Ségolistes revive France’s disillusioned Socialists (Financial Times, 3 juillet 2006)

Ségolistes revive France’s disillusioned Socialists

By Martin Arnold in Paris

Published: July 3 2006 18:03 | Last updated: July 3 2006 18:03

Yann Houedry is convinced that he has just witnessed history in the making. After watching Ségolène Royal, the rising star of France’s Socialist party, give a speech in his home town of Rennes, the 32-year-old careers adviser is buzzing with excitement.

“All political campaigns start in Rennes: Mitterrand, Chirac, Giscard d’Estaing, they all came here before they won,” says Mr Houedry, rushing between groups of friends and strangers to enthuse about Ms Royal’s performance.

“Ségolène represents a new way of doing politics, breaking down the old barriers,” he says. “She is faithful to the important values of the left but also has new ideas and is not afraid to move the lines.”

Though his father is a long-serving Socialist party member, Mr Houedry has never been interested in politics. That is, until Ms Royal came along. Now he plans to join the party, saying he wants “to make sure I get a say on who is its candidate”.

By mobilising Mr Houedry, and thousands like him, Ms Royal is tapping into a thirst for fresh faces and new ideas in France’s increasingly discredited political scene. This desire for renewal seems to have created a new constituency of “Ségolistes”.

The Socialist party says it has recruited more than 80,000 people since March, taking its total membership above 200,000 for the first time in its history.

Most of the new arrivals are young university-educated people living in urban areas, radically changing the face of the party, traditionally dominated by male union members in their 50s.

Women are still in a minority, but they make up 38 per cent of the new arrivals against only 28 per cent of the party overall, suggesting the “Ségolène effect” has added a feminine touch to the party.

These new arrivals will play a crucial role in deciding whether Ms Royal becomes the party’s presidential candidate, as they could provide the decisive votes in November’s nomination contest.

About 3,000 people – from pensioners to students, but with a high proportion of women – are crammed into the suffocating heat of the Place des Lices in the heart of Rennes’ old town to hear Ms Royal speak.

Some of these Ségolistes are long-time Socialists, like Pascale, 44, a nurse in Rennes’ hospital. “Ségolène is a woman, one of the first to do what she is doing. I admire her courage and dynamism. People are joining because of her,” she says after watching Ms Royal’s speech.

Not all are her supporters, or even Socialists. Some have different political allegiances, like Jean-Marie Hupel, 23, a student at Rennes university, who voted for the centrist François Bayrou in the 2002 elections.

“I am here out of curiosity,” says Mr Hupel, admitting he has misgivings about Ms Royal’s proposal to use military camps for disruptive school children, but admiring how she has challenged the Socialist party taboo on criticising the 35-hour working week.

Although Ms Royal was a minister under Mitterrand, most seem to agree that she is creating fresh interest in politics, after years of disillusion epitomised by the defeat of Lionel Jospin, the former Socialist prime minister, in the first round of the 2002 presidential elections.

“She has been a breath of fresh air for the party, attracting many new members, especially women and young people,” says Michel Bihan, a Socialist local politician in Rennes. “She is panicking the elephants” (as the senior party leaders are known).

Jean-Luc Richard, a professor at Rennes university, says he would prefer the Socialist candidate to be Mr Jospin, whom he used to advise. But he admits: “Ségolène is attracting new people to the party who would not otherwise be interested in politics.”

But not everyone is convinced. “Ségolène is creating a dynamic in the country, but we need something with a bit more depth,” complains Laurence Duffaud, Socialist vice-president of Rennes’ town council. “She is just spouting slogans on fashionable issues. I did not see evidence that she can go all the way to the presidency.”

Jean-Yves Le Drian, the Socialist president of the Brittany region, has been an ally of Ms Royal since the 1990s, when they were both members of Jacques Delors’ think-tank in the party.

Mr Le Drian has not officially given his support to any candidate yet, but he seems to be leaning heavily towards Ms Royal. “People feel the need to open their windows. They are looking for something else, something new,” he says. “If there was an election today, there’s no question who would win: Ségolène.”

He says party membership in Brittany has doubled since the start of the year to about 8,000, which he admits has been due, at least in part, to Ms Royal. “People are there because they feel a need for renewal and she represents that, so there is a link.”

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Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006