A president, two women and a tweet – France has witnessed a tempestuous campaign as a proud Royal is defeated yet again
Last November, she showed tears in public when she heard that she had lost heavily in the Socialist primaries to choose the party's candidate for the presidential race. But on Sunday night, there were no tears, just hatred, pure hatred.
Ségolène Royal, 58, the defeated presidential candidate of 2007, lost to a Socialist dissident in the port city of La Rochelle, in a local drama that attracted the biggest media attention, even though the broader picture of the French parliamentary election was that of major national success for the Socialist party.
What happened in La Rochelle over the last few days had all the ingredients of a Greek tragedy with a touch of vaudeville comedy, involving political rivalry, jealousy, a president and two women, and even that quintessential modern ingredient, a tweet.
Royal had picked La Rochelle, supposedly a safe seat for the left, to mark her return to national politics, after having rebuilt her regional fiefdom in the south-western region of Poitou-Charente since her presidential defeat of 2007.
But being "parachuted" into La Rochelle was less easy than expected, with a little known local Socialist leader, Olivier Falorni, refusing the orders from Paris and deciding to run a dissident list against the star politician. He played on local feelings against a national but controversial figure. It could have been the kind of fight one gets in every election, when party headquarters have to select candidates in each constituency, bruising some feelings. But this is where tragedy met vaudeville.
In addition to a political career over three decades, Royal is also the former partner of President François Hollande, the father of her four children. The two met at the elite Ecole Nationale d'Administration, the famous ENA, and led parallel, but increasingly rival, political careers in the same party.
After the 2007 presidential election, which Royal lost to Nicolas Sarkozy, the two split. And it was not long before celebrity magazines published photographs of Hollande with his new partner, Valérie Trierweiler, a political reporter for another magazine, Paris Match.
So when Trierweiler, now the unmarried partner of the new French president, tweeted her support for Falorni last week, both the media and political world went wild. This was unprecedented, with a well-known personal rivalry between the two women interfering with a major political battle.
Socialist leaders rushed to the rescue of "Ségolène", as everyone calls her, and the Elysée Palace had to reaffirm the president's support for the party official candidate. It was the job of Jean-Marc Ayrault, the prime minister, to tell the first lady (or the "first girlfriend" as the US press nicknamed Trierweiler after her debut in Washington last month during an official visit) to shut up.
Meanwhile in La Rochelle, local politics became suddenly national, and the right smelled the potential for revenge and called its voters to support Falorni.
On Sunday, the voters gave their verdict and it wasn't good news for Royal. Falorni won with 63% of the vote, a humiliating defeat for a woman who was almost assured of becoming speaker of the National Assembly had she won.
Without waiting for the official results at 8pm she was live on TV, calling her adversary a "traitor", quoting Victor Hugo about the poison of treason and showing the ugly face of defeat. The fate of this woman, who in the course of a few years lost her partner of 20 years, the presidential race, the leadership of the Socialist party (to Martine Aubry, in dubious conditions), and now a simple seat in parliament, never stops amazing.
At the same time, Royal retains a strong following, likened by some to a kind of sect. She was re-elected last year with one of the highest scores in regional elections, and is admired for her fighting spirits even by those who don't share her views.
She's accused others of macho attitudes towards women in politics, pointed a finger at those political rivals within Socialist ranks who secretly rejoice at her fate, and has worked hard for the party. This is true, but doesn't explain everything.
Royal is too proud a woman to accept that she's at least partly responsible for her setbacks. In 2007, having been logically defeated by Sarkozy, she defiantly told her supporters, with no apology: "I will lead you to new victories." No such arrogant proclamation this time. She's down, but not out. Royal never gives up.
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