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'Socialist Left factions in dire straits in Paris'
'Grassroots militants pick Ségolène Royal - again'

France's opposition Socialists launched a final push to choose a new leader before a party congress ends on Sunday amid fears that a split could leave the left's credibility in tatters.
  
Former presidential candidate Segolene Royal was vying to take the helm of the party, promising to renew the left by opening debate on a shift to the centre.
  
But she faced strong resistance, with rivals locked in intense talks on the choice of a challenger who could emerge with majority support on Sunday and unite the party.
  
In an address met with much applause but also strong jeers, Royal called for a "new popular front" against right-wing President Nicolas Sarkozy, 18 months after he trounced her in presidential elections.
  
"We need to heal all of the small and deeper wounds that we have inflicted each other," Royal told delegates gathered in Reims, the capital of the Champagne region.
  
Martine Aubry, a former labour minister and architect of the 35-hour work week, was eyeing a rival bid while Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe, long tipped as a strong contender, was searching for a compromise.
  
The stakes are high for France's main opposition party which has been dogged by infighting and unable to mount a credible opposition to Sarkozy since he took office last year.
  
The three-day congress was seen as a last chance for the party to put an end to squabbling and get to work on restoring its credibility under a new leader before the 2012 presidential vote.
  
"The French people don't hate us, but we have let them down," Aubry told delegates.
  
"If we are not able to take matters in hand, we could perhaps be facing the end of the Socialist Party," she warned ominously.
  
Royal's candidacy was propelled by her first-place showing in a vote by party members last week in which her manifesto won nearly 30 percent of the vote, ahead of Delanoe and four other contenders.
  
The 55-year-old president of the Poitou-Charente regional council sought to bring some of Delanoe's supporters on board, such as former minister for Europe Pierre Moscovici.
  
But she did not appear to be winning hearts or minds.
  
"Let us stand up with courage and virtue, because we can reach for the sun and the stars. We are the Socialists, there is so much left to do, so let's do it, together," Royal told delegates, some of whom sat stoney-faced during her entire speech while others gave her an ovation.
  
Aubry was seeking to woo Delanoe and 41-year-old Euro-MP Benoit Hamon, who has announced he is seeking the leadership on a leftist platform that rejects any shift to the centre.
  
"It's obvious that Martine is on the verge of launching her bid," said Philippe Martin, one of her supporters.
  
"I hope that discussions will lead Benoit Hamon and Bertrand Delanoe to decide that she is the best candidate to unite the party and anchor it to the left," he said.
  
A new secretary-general is to be elected by party members in a ballot on Thursday but delegates were hoping to unite at the congress behind one candidate who would then be endorsed by the rank-and-file.
  
The new leader will succeed Francois Hollande, Royal's former partner and father of her four children, who backed Delanoe for the post.