--- title: European Union: French PM Manuel Valls Warns of Collapse description: Europe could collapse without a show of leadership from France and Germany, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls warned in a visit to Berlin canonical: https://time.com/4574537/european-union-france-manuel-valls/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-17T12:48:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T01:52:53.844Z article:section: World og:title: European Union: French PM Manuel Valls Warns of Collapse og:description: Europe could collapse without a show of leadership from France and Germany, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls warned in a visit to Berlin og:url: https://time.com/4574537/european-union-france-manuel-valls/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9bd8ecdcc4016aec/6988aedbcd1bba1030703221/manuel-valls-france.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: manuel valls france og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: European Union: French PM Manuel Valls Warns of Collapse twitter:description: Europe could collapse without a show of leadership from France and Germany, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls warned in a visit to Berlin twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9bd8ecdcc4016aec/6988aedbcd1bba1030703221/manuel-valls-france.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # French Prime Minister Manuel Valls Warns Europe Could Collapse  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Nov 17, 2016 12:48 PM CUT  Manuel Valls, France's prime minister, speaks during the Sueddeutsche Zeitung Economic Summit in Berlin, Germany, on Nov. 17, 2016. Manuel Valls, France's prime minister, speaks during the Sueddeutsche Zeitung Economic Summit in Berlin, Germany, on Nov. 17, 2016.Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Nov 17, 2016 12:48 PM CUT Europe [stands on the brink of collapse](https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/33248148/french-pm-says-possible-le-pen-could-win-in-2017/#page1 "undefined") unless France and Germany can step forward and show leadership, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls warned in a visit to Berlin Thursday. Valls also acknowledged that [Marine Le Pen](http://time.com/4386695/brexit-france-q-and-a-marine-le-pen-national-front/ "undefined") of the country’s right-wing National Front could win next year’s election, according to comments [reported](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-france-idUSKBN13C10E "undefined") in AFP, connecting her with the same sentiment that led to the election of Donald Trump last week and the success of the [Brexit](http://time.com/4381190/brexit-ireland-scotland-leave-united-kingdom/?iid=sr-link2 "undefined") referendum earlier this year. “This means that the balance of politics would change completely,” he said, cautioning that there was presently a “danger presented by the extreme right”. The Prime Minister said France would need to continue a set of reforms that include lowering the country’s corporate tax rate and called on Germany to also take a leadership role investing around the continent. Economic uncertainty, refugees and terrorism are among the issues that divide the continent and threaten to tear apart the European Union. A slew of right-wing politicians have risen in popularity in recent years promising a different approach. Elections in Austria next month and in France in 2017 could bring right-wing populists to power. “Of course there are risks in France,” Valls [said](https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/33248148/french-pm-says-possible-le-pen-could-win-in-2017/#page1 "undefined"), according to the AFP. “I am struck by the tone of the public debate.” \[[_AFP_](https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/33248148/french-pm-says-possible-le-pen-could-win-in-2017/#page1 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4574537/european-union-france-manuel-valls/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4574537/european-union-france-manuel-valls/"},"headline":"French Prime Minister Manuel Valls Warns Europe Could Collapse","datePublished":"2016-11-17T12:48:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:52:53.844Z","description":"If France and Germany do not provide leadership","url":"https://time.com/4574537/european-union-france-manuel-valls/","keywords":["France"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9bd8ecdcc4016aec/6988aedbcd1bba1030703221/manuel-valls-france.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9bd8ecdcc4016aec/6988aedbcd1bba1030703221/manuel-valls-france.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"manuel valls france","caption":"manuel valls france","creditText":"Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4574537/european-union-france-manuel-valls/","name":"French Prime Minister Manuel Valls Warns Europe Could Collapse"}}]}] ```