FRANCE: Ségolène Royal endured a bruising two hours at the Socialist Party's fourth primary debate on Thursday night, writes Lara Marlowe in Paris
Ségolène Royal kept smiling as she walked off the stage in the Zénith auditorium, but something had changed in the regal carriage and confident stride; something had broken. She didn't understand what had happened, but it would make her stronger, the socialist presidential candidate told journalists later. It had been a bruising two hours.
Every time Ms Royal spoke, supporters of her rivals for the socialist nomination, Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Laurent Fabius, hissed, booed and heckled, often drowning her out. Never, in more than a year on the campaign trail, had she encountered such hostility.
Julien Dray, the spokesman for the Socialist Party and a royaliste, accused the male candidates of orchestrating the humiliation of "Ségolène" during the party's fourth primary debate on Thursday night.
The debate was hosted by the Paris and Île de France federations, who account for a quarter of the 200,000 party members who will choose the socialist candidate. "Tonight, the popular jury has spoken!" Ramzi Khiroun, Mr Strauss-Kahn's press attaché said to Mr Dray, mocking Ms Royal's proposal for "citizens' juries" to evaluate politicians. The two men almost came to blows.
Never a great orator, Ms Royal was so shaken by the mixed reception from the 6,000-strong crowd that she never got beyond platitudes and generalities: "This is the century of intelligence, and the Socialist Party is gambling on intelligence"; "Socialism cannot close its eyes to the democratic crisis, because only socialism can meet the challenge"; "It is only by staring reality in the face that we find the real solutions"; "Let us not be afraid of the people".
The ségolisme which provoked the most ridicule was: "Democracy is like love; the more there is, the more it grows."
Former prime minister Laurent Fabius exhorted his "comrades" nine times, and attacked Ms Royal for distancing herself from the official party programme. "Every day, or almost, new ideas spring forth, around us, even among us," Mr Fabius said. "Tonight, I'd like to propose the newest idea: that in 2007, the candidate chosen by the Socialist Party respect the socialist programme!"
Mr Fabius was cheered for being faithful to the programme, but he was loudly heckled for opposing the European constitutional treaty last year. "Where's your plan B?" a man in the audience shouted until he was removed by security guards. The architect of the non vote in last year's referendum, Mr Fabius claimed European leaders had a fall-back plan should the treaty fail.
Mr Strauss-Kahn, a former finance minister, was the only candidate to come out of the debate unscathed. Someone started to whistle when he evoked the constitutional treaty - which he supported - but Mr Strauss-Kahn shrewdly made a joke of it.
"Don't whistle, comrades! I love you!" he said, and the audience burst into laughter for the only time in a tense evening.
One Ségolène supporter suggested the commotion at the Zénith resulted from the rift between sophisticated Paris and the more down-to-earth provinces. Mr Strauss-Kahn and Mr Fabius are native Parisians, while Ms Royal is from Lorraine. Perhaps jaded, intellectual Parisians are out of sync with la France profonde that loves Ms Royal.
Emmanuel Bertrand (33), a university physics professor, said he attended the debate "to watch the Ségolène bubble burst".
"Her rhetoric is empty. Her slogans speak to people, but you don't know what she'd do," he said.
Bertrand's friend Noémi (29) did not want to give her family name because she works at the National Assembly. "Ségolène is dangerous," Noémi said. "She represents non-values. The Socialist Party always had different factions, but it had values. Fabius is very left wing. Strauss-Kahn is a managerial social democrat. But Ségolène doesn't defend a single socialist position."
Camille Felder (62), a retired petrol station owner, noted that this is the first time a French political party has held a primary election.
"It is truly democratic," he boasted. "But they shouldn't get nasty, because once we choose a candidate, we'll have to stand together."
Mr Felder and several others in the audience told me they would vote for the socialist candidate next spring, whoever wins the primary.
Until Thursday night, Ms Royal was expected to win the nomination in the first round on November 16th. Now that is far from certain. If the primary goes to a run-off on November 23rd, Fabius and Strauss-Kahn voters are likely to join forces against her.
Benjamin Griveaux (28) studied economics under Mr Strauss-Kahn and is now campaigning for him. "I think he's the only one who can beat [ the right-wing candidate, Nicolas] Sarkozy," Mr Griveaux said. "He's the only one who could stand up to him in a face-to-face debate. He's the one who renovated the Socialist Party."
Mr Strauss-Kahn's detractors say they don't want a French Tony Blair or Gerhard Schröder, but his supporters are unapologetic. "He's a true social democrat," Mr Griveaux said. "It's time the French Socialist Party became social democrats."
Jeanne Quinette (33) organises concerts for the Paris conservatory. Waiting for the metro after the debate, she said she had been disappointed by Ms Royal's performance. "It would be so great to have a woman in power. Imagine - the left back in power and a woman! But she doesn't seem to have substance or depth. If she debates Sarkozy, it will be a disaster."
There was no comparison between two earlier televised debates and seeing candidates in the flesh, Ms Quinette continued. On television, without harassment from the audience, Ms Royal made a far better impression, she said.
Fortunately for Ms Royal, television cameras, photographers and radio recordings have been banned from the public debates.