PARIS Ségolène Royal, the defeated French presidential candidate, said yesterday that she may aim to become the Socialists’ next leader this year, raising the possibility of a new presidential bid in 2012.

Since she lost to Nicolas Sarkozy in May, the Socialist Party has been divided over its direction and leadership. Ms Royal, 54, a regional leader, told the France 2 channel: “If I am able to unite the Socialists on this political offer . . . I will go right to the end of this move.” The current party leader, François Hollande, Ms Royal’s former partner, is due to step down later this year.

Her tough law and order proposals, patriotic rhetoric and desire to move the party closer to the centre have made her a controversial candidate.

Analysts say that the party leadership would give her a springboard from which to launch a possible new presidential bid in the next election in 2012.

Ms Royal said that she would get involved fully in the party’s campaign before the municipal election in March.

However, Bertrand Delanoe, the Socialist candidate and Mayor of Paris, is poised to become her key competitor for both the party leadership and Socialist presidential candidacy in 2012.

(Reuters)

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