It was the opportunity to place on the starting line

A companion that threatens to be a rival on Thursday, a former Prime Minister who engages in a dramatic attack Saturday and whistles, on Sunday morning in plenary, to an audience beyond to hear extolled twice in a row the balance sheet of the Poitou-Charentes region. The summer University for the PS to La Rochelle has proved tough for Ségolène Royal. It was the beginning of a double counting for all let of the PS one month of the date limit for the submission of applications (October 3) and 11 weeks of the vote of investiture (November 16). It was the opportunity to place on the starting line. For the five challengers of Ségolène Royal, it was to show that nothing is still played and that very good polls do not provide a election. All are not as determined to be: Laurent Fabius will no doubt; Dominique Strauss-Kahn held a meeting with 400 block, inflated fans Friday night, to make it clear that he would go to the end; Jack Lang situation appears much more precarious.

But all three will try in the weeks to come to modify the query prevailing among the members, to the question "Who is best placed to win" to the favourite in the polls to "which is capable of holding the shock in a campaign and the more able to govern", they believe more in keeping with their "experience". In the matter, the more severe this weekend was Lionel Jospin.

"Popularity is not sufficient."

Former Prime Minister has not yet taken the decision to run the investiture of the PS: in explaining its failure of April 21, 2002, it lifted prior to his candidacy, but it seems very reluctant (see below). On the other hand, it is a certainty, is that it will make everything possible to dam its former Minister of the family. Almost every chapter of his intervention of two hours, Saturday, included an attack implied of Ségolène Royal, found in illegitimate substance, not the height, or even dangerous for the party and the country. He does believe in participatory democracy or the campaigns on the Internet "pipes are not content, the technique does not replace politics." And above all, "should have ideas, beliefs, exposing the issues, what will be our decisions tomorrow and what will be our actions so that the citizen to be able to appreciate fully the election".

In response, even on evening France 2, Ségolène Royal openly derided the propensity of Lionel Jospin to defend his record: "an analysis of the past is helpful, but what matters is to build the future." The rest of the weekend, she was cautiously held on the sidelines of the polemics, touting the gathering in the media which is shrewd , but avoiding the debates of the summer University, which is perhaps less, facing opponents who accuse him of short-circuit the party. Even François Hollande dropped Friday night: "it must be that Ségolène understands that popularity is not sufficient."

The first Secretary of the PS plays a complicated game since it boosted the theory on his candidacy, in the name of... "gathering". It arises in use where the proliferation of applications would be to "heckling". He refuses the pressures of the jospinistes and the relatives of Ségolène Royal. And says: "my position in the party, today, it is the highest." It is all the more difficult to verify that a few months, the PS won 80,000 members (40 of workforce and more). Insensitive party culture, these newcomers blur all apparatus calculations.