Paris
Populist Ségolène Royal will be the Socialist Party candidate for president in France’s election next year. The Socialists picked Royal, 53, over two more experienced male candidates, including a former prime minister and a former finance minister. Incumbent Jacques Chirac can’t run again, and his center-right party is fielding Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who until recently was considered a favorite. But the voters seem to love Royal. In the latest poll, large majorities said they found Sarkozy more authoritative, statesman-like, and competent, but they found Royal nicer and more honest—and they said they would choose her as president over him. Royal’s longtime partner and the father of her four children, Francois Hollande, is the head of the Socialist Party and is expected to run her campaign.
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