François Hollande declared France is at war, but it is the uncompromising Valls who is overseeing the country’s response to the Paris attacks Inside his heavily guarded official residence on the left bank, Manuel Valls, the tough-talking prime minister who has orchestrated France’s hardline security response to the Paris terrorist attacks, was uncompromising that the country’s war on terror would last a long time amid a “permanent” threat of more attacks.