PARIS — Collecting 25 percent of the votes in the primary round of the French presidential election, Ségolène Royal, the Socialist candidate, enters the second round of the elections, where she will face conservative Nicolas Sarkozy. Sarkozy obtained more than 30 percent of the vote, and remains the favorite.
Last night, Royal appeared in rue Solferino, Paris, in front of the Socialist party’s campaign headquarters, where I captured the video below. Royal and her supporters expressed their joy and relief at making it to the second round. The last presidential election in 2002 was a deeply humbling moment for the French left, when the Socialist candidate, Lionel Jospin, succumbed to Jean-Marie Le Pen, of the extreme right, in the first round.
Royal appeared convinced that her leftist vision will triumph against Sarkozy in two weeks. She spoke for about five minutes, among the ovations and the jubilation of her supporters.
Click on the player below to watch: