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EVRY, France (Reuters) - French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Monday he was a candidate for next year’s presidential election and wanted to unite the Left.

“Yes, I am candidate for the presidency of the Republic,” Valls said in a speech to supporters in his fiefdom of Evry, south of Paris.

His announcement followed a primary ballot in which Francois Fillon, a 62-year-old ex-prime minister, secured a resounding win to become the presidential candidate of the center-right Les Republicains party.

The leftwing primaries take place in January and the presidential election in two rounds in April and May.