(Socialist party leader) Martine Aubry launches French presidential election bid

[Turborama]

Source: The Guardian

Socialist party leader vies to become France's first woman president by trying to broaden appeal to centre and right

Angelique Chrisafis in Paris |Tuesday June 28 2011 17.05 BST



The Socialist party leader, Martine Aubry, has launched her campaign to be France's first woman president by trying to soften her hard-left image and appeal to centrists disillusioned with Nicolas Sarkozy. The 60-year-old former labour minister, best known for creating France's 35-hour week, in a speech in her fiefdom of Lille focused on her "dream" to make France a more equal place, not the polarised and gloomy society she said had been left by Sarkozy. Aubry entered the race after the dramatic exit from political life of former Socialist favourite Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who is facing attempted rape charges in the US. She tried to appear more determined to lead the nation, after detractors suggested she lacked "fire in the belly" and had been reticent to run.

The French left is favourite in the polls to win the presidential election in spring 2012, and Aubry's bid marked the start of the Socialists' first ever US-style primary race to select a candidate.

With Sarkozy's low poll ratings beginning to modestly rise again, the Socialists must be able to broaden their appeal to the centre and right. The favourite to win the primary vote in October is François Hollande, a former party leader and centrist who has appealed to the middle class. But Aubry, traditionally placed more to the left, is catching up with him.

Aubry pointedly launched her presidential bid in Lille, where she is mayor and presents herself as close to the people. She chose a local cultural centre, a dig at Sarkozy's famed dismissal of culture and intellectuals during the previous presidential campaign. Aubry, a fan of classical music and a culture expert, will be relying on the backing of key figures in film and the arts.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/28/martine-aubry-french-presidential-election

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I would... if I was French.

[JDPriestly]

1. K&R