No giving up for Royal supporters

SUPPORTERS of Ségolène Royal have created a video of her winning the 2012 presidential elections.

The so-called “Royalists” who back the 2007 presidential candidate, have vowed to fight back after she lost the Socialist Party’s recent leadership election.

They have attacked the “intellectual regression” of new party leader Martine Aubry.

On Désirs d’Avenir (Future Hopes), a website set up by Royal to unite her supporters, members are planning ahead, fuming at what they see as the sidelining of their group from the national party leadership since Aubry became premìère secrétaire.

One fan has put up a video on the sharing site dailymotion.com which uses footage from the 2007 election, but with Royal winning instead of Sarkozy, captioned “2012...”

Despite not being première secrétaire Royal, who is president of the Poitou-Charentes region, could still become the Socialist presidential candidate. However her more centerist political outlook clashes with the left-wing base of the party.

One posting on the site said: “Aubry embodies proletarian archaism, Ségolène, renewal. The party made the wrong choice. Let’s fight, tooth and nail. No giving up.”

Some Royal fans, “fed up” of the Parti Socialiste, have suggested they should start a breakaway party.

Vincent Peillon, Royal’s right-hand man, has attacked Aubry’s official manifesto for the party as showing “intellectual regression such as we have not seen in the party for years.”

He described the national party leadership as “totalitarian.”

Party spokesman Benoît Hamon, who also stood for the position of premìère secrétaire but asked supporters to vote for Aubry after losing in the first round, told Peillon to “get to work rather than talking like that.”

He added: “Are you sure you want to be part of the national leadership, if you think it’s totalitarian?” For the Royalists it is “game over,” he said (in English).

Photo:Still from Royal victory film