An “Anyone But Ségolène” movement gathered steam at France’s Socialist party congress yesterday as rivals strove to prevent Ségolène Royal, the party’s former presidential candidate, from taking control.

Royal, 55, who lost to Nicolas Sarkozy in last year’s election, is standing for the post of party secretary-general, which is being vacated after 11 years by François Hollande, her former lover.

Yet even Hollande, who has four children with Royal, has sided with one of her rivals in the increasingly acrimonious leadership contest.

The debates are taking place this weekend in Reims, the Champagne capital, but there is nothing to celebrate. The socialists have been so busy arguing among themselves that they have lost all credibility against Sarkozy. He has added insult to injury by appointing some of their most charismatic figures to cabinet posts.

Royal’s rivals — including Martine Aubry, the mayor of Lille and daughter of Jacques Delors, the former president of the European Commission — accuse her of lacking depth and consistency and will fight tooth and nail to stop her.

Aubry, a former minister who is remembered for launching the now discredited 35-hour working week, has dismissed Royal’s ideas for party renewal as “not up to scratch”. In turn, Royal said Aubry’s plans were more like a “shopping list”.

Bertrand Delanoë, the gay mayor of Paris, seems to hope that they will wipe each other out so that he can emerge as the sole survivor. It would be unwise to bet against Royal’s powers of endurance, however, as she held a series of meetings behind closed doors yesterday to try to gain more support.

Her victory in the battle for the Socialist presidential nomination made her a household name, but the so-called “elephants”, or party leaders, seemed to resent her popularity. They were frustrated to see her emerge on top again in a pre-congress manifesto vote.

A stylish dresser, Royal is the photographers’ favourite: she took 20 minutes to emerge from her car when she arrived at the congress on Friday, so tight was the crowd of camermen around her.

Aubry has ruled out any partnership with Royal and was trying instead to ally herself with Benoît Hamon, a younger leader from the party’s hard left.

“She’s a media star, but she has no substance,” said Yannick Guillemaud, a socialist activist. “I will be miserable if she emerges victorious.”

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