First Female Presidential Candidate Chosen By French Socialists.

Ségolène Royal won the primaries in the socialist party. So she is now the official Presidential candidate of the left in France. That's really no surprise, athought she won with a comfortable majority of 60.62%. That's a huge margin.
Her main opponent is likely to be Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, head of the ruling rightist party, the Union for a Popular Movement.

An Ipsos opinion poll published in the weekly Le Point on Thursday predicted a 50-50 draw if Royal and Sarkozy faced each other as expected in a second round run-off next May.

Royal's victory in the socialist party is a sign that France is craving for change. Both likely candidates are popular in the bolls because they try to campaign on a platform of “rupture” with the status quo which is a bit ironic since both have been in politics for decades.
The recipe has been her straight-forward language with a mix of glamor, and emphasis on traditional values while being close to the people.

She dominated the primary campaign, putting forward unconventional ideas such as creating "citizen juries" to shadow the work of parliamentarians and questioning the efficiency of hallowed Socialist legislature, such as the 35-hour work week. (NYTimes)
Responding to voters’ disillusionment with traditional elitist politics, she is promising more power to the people, giving local governments more authority and encouraging citizens to submit their ideas online about how to run the government. (Wash. Post)

The presidential election's first round is on April 22.

More later...