France: Socialist Party chooses a Blairite presidential candidate

Ségolène Royal had been designated Socialist Party candidate for the 2007 presidential elections. The party’s 218,771 paid-up members cast their vote in 4,000 transparent ballot boxes on November 16. Of these eligible voters, 68,049 were new members who had joined the Parti Socialiste (PS) via the Internet with cut-price dues of €20 in order to participate in the ballot.