Segolene Royal Steps Out

[La_Fourmi_Rouge]

Socialist Party presidential candidate Segolene Royal on Sunday delivered a stirring 2-hour speech to 15,000 supporters in Villepente, France, outlining a 100-point proposal for the creation of a "New France".

"With me (in office), never again will politics take place without you," Royal told supporters.

Royal unveils platform for French presidential election

"A passionate, and occasionally tearful Ségolène Royal yesterday proposed a 100-point, largely left-leaning "pact" to build a "new" France. In an assured two-hour speech to 15,000 supporters just outside Paris, the Socialist presidential candidate ended a much-criticised "listening" phase of her campaign by announcing a detailed programme of government."

Tearful Royal stops listening and starts talking

"Attempting to overcome a recent drop in the polls, Socialist presidential candidate Segolene Royal unveiled a long-awaited platform Sunday that promises to boost the minimum wage and pension payments."

"I want, today, to give back hope and courage to the weakest. To all I say that the time of imagination and daring has arrived. I will forget no-one because France -- in order to recover -- needs every man and woman," she said.
Her two-hour address was frequently interrupted by whoops and chants of "President, President" from a crowd anxious to believe that the candidate, who has been slipping badly in the polls, is poised to make an aggressive comeback against right-wing rival Nicolas Sarkozy."

ROYAL LAUNCHES SPENDING MANIFESTO FOR FRENCH PRESIDENCY

"Attempting to overcome a recent drop in the polls, Socialist presidential candidate Segolene Royal unveiled a long-awaited platform Sunday that promises to boost the minimum wage and pension payments."

French Socialist Aims to Overcome Drop

"Julien Dray a assuré que "tout ce qui est proposé sera financé sans augmenter les prélèvements obligatoires", comme la candidate s'y est déjà engagée. Parmi les "pistes" d'économies possibles, il a notamment cité la remise en cause, prévue dans le projet socialiste, de l'exonération de charges sociales accordées aux entreprises pour un montant de "près de 60 milliards d'euros".

Le programme de Ségolène Royal sera financé sans augmenter les prélèvements


I am hopeful that the French public will see the stark difference between Royal and Sarkozy. Sarkozy is a shameless racist and a hypocrite who appeals to the "Le Pen" faction and the worst of French society. Royal, although an elitist well-insulated from the concerns of the masses, has at least the veneer of care for the poor and the lost, the under-educated and underprivieged who have borne the brunt of the last 10 years of stagnation under Chirac and the neo-liberal corporatist schemers. France is facing a myriad of problems not the least of which is the legacy of their colonial past and the legal immigration of millions of North African people, a demographic nightmare now looming as a threat to the long-standing socialist covenant between the state and the people.

If Sarkozy gains the Presidency, his disdain for the lower classes will lead the country into a morass of hate and recrimination, fostering social unrest and a continuing decline of national interest.

Allez, Royal!!!