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| Champs-Elysees Arch of TriumphParis |
By Carolyn Bennett
Royal
French politician Marie-Ségolène Royal was the first woman
in France to be nominated for the presidency by a major party. In 2007 she was
the Socialist candidate in the French presidential election opposing Nicolas
Sarkozy.
In 2008, at the twenty-second national congress, Royal ran
in the Socialist Party’s election for First Secretary. In November of 2010, Royal announced her
intention to again seek the Socialist Party’s nomination for the 2012
presidency. She is currently the
president of the Poitou-Charentes Regional Council, a former member of the
National Assembly and former government minister. Royal is a prominent member of
the French Socialist Party.
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| French Socialist Contenders |
Two Sundays
Francois Hollande’s turn
Thirty years the partner of Ségolène Royal, Francois
Hollande began his political career as a student volunteer for François
Mitterrand’s1974 presidential campaign. By the time Mitterrand was elected to
the Elysée presidential palace in 1981, Hollande had become a special adviser
to the newly-elected Socialist president and had served on the government
spokesperson’s staff. Hollande later served as representative of the central
Corrèze region and mayor of the town of Tulle. Royal and Hollande (now ex-partners) were described
as a politically active couple. In 1992, she is Environment Minister and enters
the national political stage; in 1997, Hollande becomes Socialist Party leader.
In 2011, International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Dominique
Strauss-Kahn is expected to be the Socialist Party’s 2012 presidential nominee until his disgrace (arrested in New York City on sexual assault charges); and in the fall of that year, Hollande wins the French Socialist primary. In
May he challenges incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy and wins the French presidency.
Hollande is described as having been born into a middle class family in the northern
French city of Rouen, his mother a social worker and “former Socialist militant.”
He studied at one of France’s leading business schools and at the “prestigious
Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris” [or ENA]; during the latter period, he met Ségolène Royal.
“We are here … to
change the destiny of our country,” he is quoted on the road to the Elysée
presidential palace. As with all contenders, President-elect Francois Hollande delivered
priorities and promises.
To reduce the salaries of the president and members of the government by 30 percent
To create a tax on financial transactions
To make education a real national priority …, reduce the numbers of young people who leave schools in France without qualifications.
To accelerate withdrawal of the 3,600 French troops currently deployed in Afghanistan.
To lead by making difficult decisions, “not simply reacting to a tragedy”
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| Hollande's Crowd |
At his Election Day victory, Hollande said France voted for 'change' but he had a heavy responsibility to drag the country out of economic
crisis.
He vowed that France would no longer be fractured, divided or riven (shattered, torn down) by discrimination or those in the poor high-rise suburbs and abandoned rural areas cast aside.”
He vowed that France would no longer be fractured, divided or riven (shattered, torn down) by discrimination or those in the poor high-rise suburbs and abandoned rural areas cast aside.”
Though the president-elect vowed to begin his reforms as
soon as he takes office on May 15, he has acknowledged “he will have ‘no state
of grace’ leading a country [that is] crippled by public debt and in economic crisis (an unemployment
rate close to 10 percent), gaping trade deficit, stuttering growth and
declining industry.”
Sources and notes
Marie-Ségolène Royal notes, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A9gol%C3%A8ne_Royal
Hollande's victory: The tortoise who beat the hare, MAY 7, 2012,
http://www.france24.com/en/20120507-hollande-victory-tortoise-who-beat-hare-sarkozy-french-presidential-election
“Hollande vows to ‘change destiny of France’” http://www.france24.com/en/20120122-francois-hollande-president-france-socialist
Socialist Party presidential candidate Francois Hollande
kickstarts his bid for the Elysée on Sunday with the first major speech of his
campaign. Before a 15,000-strong crowd of supporters, Hollande said he was
ready to serve the French people, http://www.france24.com/en/20120122-francois-hollande-president-france-socialist
“French president François Hollande promises ‘a new start’
for Europe — After victory over Nicolas Sarkozy, Socialist says he will fight
back against German-led austerity measures,” May 7, 2012, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/06/francois-hollande-becomes-french-president
Image
Avenue des Champs-Elysees, Arch of Triumph, Paris, France Photographic Print
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Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire http://www.facebook.com/#!/bennetts2ndstudy
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