New York Times
Segolene Royal, the Socialist Party candidate, is not married to the father of her four children, Francois Hollande. But more than that, they are potential political rivals. As head of the Socialist Party, he was nearly the candidate himself, and says he will try to run in 2012 if Ms. Royal loses this time. "Certainly, without doubt," he said Wednesday in an interview on a train from Paris to Nantes. "It's also a competition between us." He added that even if Ms. Royal won the election, he would not be joining her in Elysee Palace for her five-year term. "I am not the one who is going to be elected," he said. "If Segolene Royal wins, my situation doesn't change. It is Segolene Royal who has a great responsibility and has to decide what is the best way of exercising it--including where she lives."Sacha Zimmerman