Royal splits from partner and Socialist leader

DEFEATED French presidential candidate Ségolène Royal said yesterday her partner, Socialist Party leader Francois Hollande, had moved out of their home.

The liaison between the two socialists, who have four children but never married, has dominated headlines since Ms Royal overtook her more experienced partner last year to become the party’s presidential challenger.

“We no longer live in the same home,” she told France Inter radio, after the split-up was reported in a new book.

“I have asked Francois Hollande to leave our home, to live his love life in his own way and I’ve told him that I want him to be happy,” she was quoted as saying in the book Ségolène Royal — Les coulisses d’une defaite (Behind the scenes of a defeat).

News of the split overshadowed the results of Sunday’s parliamentary election, which the Socialists lost to the conservative allies of President Nicolas Sarkozy.

“The break-up,” Le Parisien daily said in a banner headline, mentioning the election results only in a small sub-heading.

Commentators wondered what impact the power couple’s separation would have on the party’s leadership battle. Ms Royal has made clear she wants the top party job, but Mr Hollande has said he will not leave his post until the autumn of 2008.

The pair strike a sharp contrast.

Short, round and bespectacled, Mr Hollande has been a fervent speaker since his days as a student activist.

Ms Royal was hardly known to most French people three years ago but marked a spectacular ascent by winning the party’s presidential ticket, a prize Mr Hollande at one point hoped would be his.