Bagasse ( /bəˈɡæs/ bə-GAS) is the fibrous matter that remains after sugarcane or sorghum stalks are crushed to extract their juice. It is currently used as a biofuel and in the manufacture of pulp and paper products and building materials.

Agave bagasse is a similar material that consists of the tissue of the blue agave after extraction of the sap.

For each 10 tonnes of sugarcane crushed, a sugar factory produces nearly 3 tonnes of wet bagasse. Since bagasse is a by-product of the cane sugar industry, the quantity of production in each country is in line with the quantity of sugarcane produced.

The high moisture content of bagasse, typically 40 to 50%, is detrimental to its use as a fuel. In general, bagasse is stored prior to further processing. For electricity production, it is stored under moist conditions, and the mild exothermic reaction that results from the degradation of residual sugars dries the bagasse pile slightly. For paper and pulp production, it is normally stored wet in order to assist in removal of the short pith fibres, which impede the papermaking process, as well as to remove any remaining sugar.

Manuel Valls (French: [manyɛl vals], Catalan: [mənuˈɛɫ ˈβaʎs], born August 13, 1962) is a French Socialist Party (PS) politician, deputy since 2002 and mayor of Évry. On May 16, 2012 he was appointed Minister of the Interior (Homeland security) in the French government of Jean-Marc Ayrault.

Valls was born in Barcelona, Spain, and became a naturalized French citizen in 1982. He is a prominent supporter of F.C. Barcelona, the famous club whose anthem was composed by a namesake of his, the cousin of his father. As reported on the Swiss Newspapers last week he is the son of a Spanish citizen, while his mother is a Ticinese, Swiss-Italian from Valle di Blenio, Canton Ticino.

After serving as an advisor on youth issues for Prime Minister Michel Rocard from 1988 to 1991, he was communications advisor to Prime Minister Lionel Jospin from 1997 to 2001.

He sought the PS nomination for President of France in the 2012 election. Finally ranked 5th of the first round of the PS primary, he called for a François Hollande vote in the second round. Valls is often considered in France as a representative of the social-liberal wing of the French Socialist Party, sharing common orientations with Scandinavian style Social Democracy and Blairism.