Last modification: 27/01/09
 -  Martine Aubry - Ségolène Royal - Socialist Party (France)
 
French Socialists elect new chief
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After a bitter battle fraught by accusations of voting irregularities, Martine Aubry pulled ahead of rival Ségolène Royal, with a slim 102-vote lead, to emerge as the French Socialist Party’s new leader.
Martine Aubry, a former French labour minister responsible for France’s 35-hour work week, has been finally declared leader of the French Socialist Party following a pitched fight against former presidential candidate Ségolène Royal. Official results of the November 2008 party election gave Aubry a slim 102-vote lead over Royal. The process revealed the deep divides within France’s main opposition party and has led to renewed speculations about a possible split within the ranks. After contesting early vote results, Royal has conceded defeat to the mayor of Lille. But the former partner of former Socialist Party leader François Hollande has not abandoned her political ambitions. “We succeeded in convincing half the party, and perhaps a few more members of the Socialist Party,” Royal said shortly after the results were declared November 25.

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