Ségolène Royal launches her campaign in the socialist primary in Alfortville

Not a single candle burns on the horizon. Not even a cake, let alone party favors. From time to time we can just hear a foghorn at the back of the room. A few “Happy Birthday!” erupt timidly, but remain a dead letter. This is because we are not at the birthday party of Ségolène Royal, born on September 22, 1953, 73 years ago to the day, but at the first public meeting of her campaign in the socialist primary in October.

In a large gymnasium in Alfortville, in Val-de-Marne, some 200 to 300 people came to listen to the former socialist minister, who intends to win the presidential election twenty years after her failure in the second round against Nicolas Sarkozy. It is at this level, totally unexpected at this stage, that the person concerned places her ambitions. “We believe that Ségolène Royal can become the first woman president of the Republic,” defended her campaign director, Luc Carvounas, on stage, moreover…