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Ségolène Royal (; born Marie-Ségolène Royal; 22 September 1953) is a French politician who took part in the
2007 French presidential election Presidential elections were held in France on 21 and 22 April 2007 to elect the successor to Jacques Chirac as president of France (and ''ex officio'' Co-Prince of Andorra) for a five-year term. As no candidate received a majority of the vot ...
, losing to
Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...
in the second round. She was the first woman in France's history to reach the second round in a presidential election. Royal was president of the Poitou-Charentes Regional Council from 2004 to 2014. She won the 2006 Socialist Party primary, becoming the first woman in France to be nominated as a presidential candidate by a major party. In the subsequent 2007 presidential election, she earned further distinction as the first woman to qualify for the second round of a presidential election, but ultimately lost to
Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...
. In 2008, Royal narrowly lost to
Martine Aubry Martine Louise Marie Aubry (; née Delors; born 8 August 1950) is a French politician. She was the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party (''Parti Socialiste'', or PS) from November 2008 to April 2012, and has been the Mayor (France), M ...
in the Socialist Party's election for First Secretary at the Party's twenty-second national congress. She lost the Socialist Party presidential primary in 2011, and failed in an attempt to win a seat in the National Assembly in the June 2012 parliamentary elections. She has four children with
François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...
, the former president, and was appointed by him to the vice-chair directorship of the
Banque Publique d'Investissement Bpifrance also known as the ''Banque publique d'investissement'' () is a French State-owned enterprise, public sector investment bank. It is a joint venture of two state owned enterprises: the Caisse des dépôts et consignations and Bpifrance ( ...
(BPI) in 2013. She served as Minister for Ecology from 2014 to 2017, in the Valls, then Cazeneuve cabinets.


Early life

Marie-Ségolène Royal was born on 22 September 1953 in the military base of Ouakam,
Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...
,
French West Africa French West Africa (, ) was a federation of eight French colonial empires#Second French colonial empire, French colonial territories in West Africa: Colonial Mauritania, Mauritania, French Senegal, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guin ...
(now
Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
), the daughter of Hélène Dehaye and Jacques Royal, a former artillery officer and aide to the mayor of Chamagne (
Vosges The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and ...
). Her parents had eight children in nine years: Marie-Odette, Marie-Nicole,
Gérard Gérard (French language, French: ) is a French masculine given name and surname of Germanic languages, Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other Germanic name, early Germanic names, it is ...
, Marie-Ségolène, Antoine, Paul, Henri and Sigisbert. After secondary school in the small town of Melle, Deux-Sèvres, Marie-Ségolène attended a local university where she graduated 2nd in her class with a degree in economics. Her eldest sister then suggested she prepare the entrance exam to the elite
Institut d'études politiques de Paris Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...
popularly called ''
Sciences Po Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...
'', which she attended on scholarship. There she discovered politics of class and feminism ("Sciences Po" at the time was 85% upper-class Parisian, mostly male). In 1972, at the age of 19, Royal sued her father because he refused to divorce her mother and pay
alimony Alimony, also called aliment (Scotland), maintenance (England, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Canada, New Zealand), spousal support (U.S., Canada) and spouse maintenance (Australia), is a legal obligation on a person to provide ...
and
child support Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (state or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is ...
to finance the children's education. She won the case after many years in court, shortly before Jacques Royal died of lung cancer in 1981. Six of the eight children had refused to see him again, Ségolène included. Royal, like the majority of France's political elite, is a graduate of the
École nationale d'administration The (; ENA; ) was a French ''grande école'', created in 1945 by the then Provisional Government of the French Republic, provisional chief of government Charles de Gaulle and principal co-author of the Constitution of France, 1958 Constitution M ...
. She was in the same class as her former partner of 30 years,
François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...
, as well as
Dominique de Villepin Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin (; born 14 November 1953) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 31 May 2005 to 17 May 2007 under President Jacques Chirac. In his career working at the Ministry ...
(prime minister under
Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...
). Each class year at the ENA receives a nickname to distinguish it: Royal tried to get her peers to name their class after
Louise Michel Louise Michel (; 29 May 1830 – 9 January 1905) was a teacher and prominent figure during the Paris Commune. Following her penal transportation to New Caledonia she began to embrace anarchism, and upon her return to France she emerged as an im ...
, a revolutionary from the 1870s, but they chose the name "
Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...
" instead. During her time at the ENA, Royal also dropped "Marie" from her hyphenated first name.


Political career


Beginnings

After graduating in 1980, she elected to serve as a judge (''conseiller'') of an
administrative court An administrative court is a type of specialized court on administrative law, particularly disputes concerning the exercise of public power. Their role is to ascertain that official acts are consistent with the law. Such courts are usually co ...
before she was noticed by President
François Mitterrand François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was a French politician and statesman who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest holder of that position in the history of France. As a former First ...
's special adviser Jacques Attali and recruited to his staff in 1982. She held the junior rank of ''chargée de mission'' from 1982 to 1988.


Member of the French National Assembly

She decided to become a candidate for the 1988 legislative election; she registered in the rural, Western
Deux-Sèvres Deux-Sèvres (, Poitevin-Saintongese: ''Deùs Saevres'') is a French department. ''Deux-Sèvres'' literally means "two Sèvres": the Sèvre Nantaise and the Sèvre Niortaise are two rivers which have their sources in the department. It had a ...
Département. Her candidacy was an example of the French political tradition of ''parachutage'' (parachuting), appointing promising "Parisian" political staffers as candidates in provincial districts to test their mettle. She was up against an entrenched UDF incumbent, and Mitterrand is said to have told her: "You will not win, but you will next time." Straddling strongly Catholic and Protestant areas, that district had been held by conservatives since World War II. She did win against the odds, and remarked: "''Pour un parachutage, l'atterrissage est réussi.''" ("As far as
parachuting Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes. For hu ...
goes, the landing was a success"). After this election, she served as representative in the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
for the Deux-Sèvres' 2nd constituency (1988–1992, 1993–1997, 2002–2007).


Ministerial offices

*Minister of Environment: 1992–1993. *Minister of School Education: 1997–2000. *Minister of Family and Children: 2000–2001. *Minister of Family, Children and Disabled persons: 2001–2002.


President of the Region Poitou-Charentes

On 28 March 2004, she obtained 55% in the second round in the regional election in Poitou-Charentes, notably defeating Prime Minister
Jean-Pierre Raffarin Jean-Pierre Raffarin (; born 3 August 1948) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005 under President Jacques Chirac. He resigned after France's rejection of the referendum on the European Un ...
's protégée, Élisabeth Morin, in his home region. She was elected president of the region the next week. She kept her National Assembly seat until June 2007, when she chose not to run in the legislative election, in agreement with one of her presidential campaign's promises. She organised a run-off between two contenders; the winner, Delphine Batho, went on to win the district for her and Royal's party.


2007 presidential candidacy

On 22 September 2005, ''
Paris Match ''Paris Match'' () is a French-language weekly gossip magazine. It covers major national and international news along with celebrity lifestyle features. ''Paris Match'' has been considered "one of the world's best outlets for photojournalism". ...
'' published an interview in which she declared that she was considering running for the presidency in 2007. In 2006 the CPE (first employment contract) laws were proposed with large protests as a result. Rather than going to the organised protest, she voted a law in her "région" whereby no company using that type of contract would receive the Région's subsidies. The government backed down and stated that the law would be put on the statute book, but that it would not be applied. After this event Royal was tipped as the lead contender in what is dubbed the "Sarko-Ségo" race against
Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...
. By the beginning of September 2006, her intentions had become quite clear. She has said that only widespread sexism in the Socialist Party had prevented it from rallying around her candidacy as it would have had she been a man. She announced an official team to promote her campaign on 30 August. At this point, polls showed her to be much more popular than her closest competitor, former Prime Minister
Lionel Jospin Lionel Robert Jospin (; born 12 July 1937) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002. Jospin was First Secretary of the French Socialist Party, First Secretary of the Socialist Party from 1995 to 1997 and th ...
, and other Socialist heavyweights Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Jack Lang, another former Prime Minister
Laurent Fabius Laurent Fabius (; born 20 August 1946) is a French politician. A member of the Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party, he previously served as Prime Minister of France from 17 July 1984 to 20 March 1986. Fabius was 37 years old when he was a ...
and
François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...
. Her status as a presidential candidate became more likely on 28 September 2006, when
Lionel Jospin Lionel Robert Jospin (; born 12 July 1937) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002. Jospin was First Secretary of the French Socialist Party, First Secretary of the Socialist Party from 1995 to 1997 and th ...
, the Socialist former Prime Minister and a fixture in French politics for nearly three decades, announced that he would not run after all. Jack Lang followed suit. On 16 November, Royal defeated
Laurent Fabius Laurent Fabius (; born 20 August 1946) is a French politician. A member of the Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party, he previously served as Prime Minister of France from 17 July 1984 to 20 March 1986. Fabius was 37 years old when he was a ...
and Dominique Strauss-Kahn in the
French Socialist Party The Socialist Party ( , PS) is a Centre-left politics, centre-left to Left-wing politics, left-wing List of political parties in France, political party in France. It holds Social democracy, social democratic and Pro-Europeanism, pro-European v ...
primary, becoming the party's candidate for the 2007 presidential election. The Socialist party's members voted 60.69% for her and gave a bit under 20% each to the more traditional contenders. She also won in 101 of 104 of the Socialist Party's ''fédérations'', losing only
Haute-Corse Haute-Corse (; , or ; ) is a department of France, consisting of the northern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collectivity merged with that of Corse-du-Sud on 1 January 2018, forming the single ter ...
,
Mayotte Mayotte ( ; , ; , ; , ), officially the Department of Mayotte (), is an Overseas France, overseas Overseas departments and regions of France, department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is one of the Overseas departm ...
and
Seine-Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inf� ...
(the latter being the home region of
Laurent Fabius Laurent Fabius (; born 20 August 1946) is a French politician. A member of the Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party, he previously served as Prime Minister of France from 17 July 1984 to 20 March 1986. Fabius was 37 years old when he was a ...
). One of her top advisors, Éric Besson, resigned soon afterwards over a disagreement about the costs of this programme, which he believes could reach €35 billion, while others in the campaign team wanted to delay bringing out that figure. he figure was equivalent to that of Mr. Sarkozy's but higher than Mr. Bayrou's, who was becoming a key figure in the race.This led to an unusually bitter fall-out, and Mr Besson writing a book titled ''Qui connaît Madame Royal ?'' (Who knows Mrs Royal?), published on 20 March. In it, Besson accuses Royal of being a populist, an authoritarian and a luddite and says that he will not vote for her and hopes that she is not elected. He then went on to join the Sarkozy campaign and was rewarded with a junior position in the next government on 18 May 2007. Following the first round of the presidential election, she faced
Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...
in the second round of voting on 6 May in a two-way runoff. In the final round of voting on Sunday, 6 May, Sarkozy won the presidency with 53% of the vote. Royal conceded defeat and wished Sarkozy the best, requesting he keep her supporters in mind. Royal later revealed she had offered defeated centrist candidate,
François Bayrou François René Jean Lucien Bayrou (; born 25 May 1951) is a French politician who has served as Prime Minister of France since December 2024. He has presided over the European Democratic Party (EDP) since 2004 and the Democratic Movement (France ...
, the premiership should she be elected.


2008 Socialist Party leadership election

Royal entered the leadership election of the Socialist Party to replace her former common law husband
François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...
as head of the party. She garnered the largest plurality of votes in the first round of voting, but not enough to win outright; she was eventually narrowly defeated in the second round by rival
Martine Aubry Martine Louise Marie Aubry (; née Delors; born 8 August 1950) is a French politician. She was the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party (''Parti Socialiste'', or PS) from November 2008 to April 2012, and has been the Mayor (France), M ...
by the margin of 42 votes. After a vote recount, Aubry was declared the winner 25 November 2008, with the margin widening to 102 votes. Royal has announced her intentions to contest the result. Royal has blamed party leaders and her former partner for her loss in the 2007 election.


2011 Socialist Party presidential primary

Royal ran in the French Socialist Party presidential primary election of 2011, the party's first ever open primary. She arrived 4th in the first round on 9 October 2011 with a mere 6.95% of votes, considerably below the figures suggested by opinion polls.


Defeat in the 2012 legislative election

In 2012, Royal ran for office representing Charente-Maritime's 1st constituency. She lost the election to a PRG candidate, Olivier Falorni. After her separation with Hollande, political relations between them were tense, though they have both stated that they remained friends. In the 2008 Socialist Party leadership election, Hollande backed another candidate, and Royal has blamed him and the party establishment for her 2007 Presidential defeat.


2014 return to government

On 2 April 2014 Royal was appointed Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy in the second cabinet of
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Manuel Valls Manuel Carlos Valls Galfetti (born 13August 1962) is a French–Spanish politician who serves as Minister of the Overseas in the Bayrou government since 2024. He served as Prime Minister of France from 2014 until 2016 under president Françoi ...
. In January 2015 she was third in line in governmental rank, after the Prime Minister and
Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
. Increasingly, commentators have seen Royal as President
François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...
’s stand-in for some important state occasions. When
Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
touched down on French soil for the first time in his papacy with a visit to the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
in
Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
in November 2014, Royal was the senior French official there to greet him. After the deadly attacks against a satirical newspaper and a kosher supermarket in January 2015, she travelled to
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
to represent France at the memorial services. In 2016 Royal promised to install 1,000 km of 'solar roadways' in the next five years. One kilometre was installed in Normandie, and after producing about a quarter of the power predicted, was mostly torn up inside three years.


2017–2020: Ambassador for the Arctic and Antarctic

When
Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...
was elected French President in May 2017, Royal hoped to be offered a position in his government but instead was offered the position of Ambassador for the Poles, which she accepted in June 2017. In late 2018 the publication of Royal's book "Ce que je peux enfin vous dire" (What I can finally tell you) detailing the sexism she had suffered throughout her political career, coincided with a decline in Macron's popularity at the time of the
Gilets jaunes The yellow vests protests or yellow-jacket protests (, ) were a series of populist, grassroots weekly protests in France that began on 17 November 2018 and ended on 28 June 2020. Some minor protests started again after the restrictions linked ...
protests and resulted in speculation that Royal was contemplating a political comeback. After repeatedly and publicly criticising Macron's handling of pension reform, it was announced by the
Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...
that the Mission to the Poles would be ended, effectively removing Royal from her position, in tandem with an official investigation being launched inquiring about alleged misuse of public funds during Royal's time in office.


Policies

Royal has tended to campaign on family and other socially-oriented issues, rather than on economic or foreign policy issues. For instance, she has mounted campaigns against the exposure of children to violent television shows, including cartoons (see her 1989 book, listed below, ''Le Ras-le-bol des bébés zappeurs'', roughly translated as "The Channel-Surfing Kids Are Fed Up"), and more generally has taken a stand on several issues regarding family values and the protection of children. Royal stated as part of her 100-point platform that if elected, she would raise the lowest state pensions by five per cent, increase the monthly minimum wage to €1,500, raise benefits of handicapped citizens, implement state-paid rental deposits for the poorest citizens, and guarantee a job or job training to every student within six months of graduation. She pledged to abolish a flexible work contract for small companies. She pledged free contraception for all young women and a €10,000 interest-free loan for all young people.


Economy

Royal opposes movements of jobs between EU countries and outsourcing to developing countries. She pledged to abolish a flexible work contract for small companies. She did not directly address whether additional taxes would need to be raised to fund these programs, stating that they can be paid for by cutting waste in government. She was appointed to the vice-chair directorship of the
Banque Publique d'Investissement Bpifrance also known as the ''Banque publique d'investissement'' () is a French State-owned enterprise, public sector investment bank. It is a joint venture of two state owned enterprises: the Caisse des dépôts et consignations and Bpifrance ( ...
, from which position she stated that the "BPI's purpose is not to do business nor to make profits".


Environment

The Socialist Party website states that during her tenure as ''Minister for the Environment'', 1992–1993, Royal campaigned actively and successfully for the "Law on the treatment and
recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the propert ...
of
Waste Waste are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor Value (economics), economic value. A wast ...
" (), the "Law to preserve the countryside" (), a "Save our countrysides, savour their products" campaign to provide proper labelling for the products of 100 local areas (), and the "Law against noise pollution" (). She provided compensation for people adversely affected by airport noise.


Education

During her tenure as Minister-delegate for the Family, Children, and the Handicapped, 2000–2002, Royal was active in the re-launch of the Priority Education Zones program (ZEP / zone d'éducation prioritaire), the creation of a government student lunch program, the implementation of language instruction as a priority in primary schools, the creation of a national home-tutoring program, Heures de Soutien Scolaire, and the creation of programs for parental involvement in schools, "la Semaine des parents à l'école", and national campaigns for the elections of parent-representatives. She also campaigned for the creation of local education and citizenship education contracts, the "Initiatives citoyennes" program for teaching children how to live together, the law on "Defense of children's rights and campaign against violence in the schools" (''Loi de juin 1998 relative à la prévention et à la répression des infractions sexuelles ainsi qu'à la protection des mineurs''), the "Campaign against
hazing Hazing (American English), initiation, beasting (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), ragging (South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, ...
rituals in higher education" (''Loi de juin 1998 contre le bizutage''), the "Campaign against violence and racketeering" which included implementation of the "SOS Violence" telephone number, and the implementation of mandatory civics instruction in secondary schools. In January 2006, she criticised secondary school teachers (workers of state public service) who give private lessons outside school hours, saying that they should spend more time in school. When a bootleg video of the speech surfaced on the Internet in November 2006, the teachers' union SNES rebuffed her, requesting that she renounce her proposal.


Family and social affairs

In 1989, Royal wrote ''The Channel-Surfing Kids Are Fed-Up'', a book in which she criticised Japanese animation (then dominant in certain TV programs) as poor quality production detrimental for children. Royal favours, and has worked for, the "Parental rights and obligations act" (''Loi sur l'autorité parentale''), the "Women's rights reform and anonymous childbirth act" (''l'accouchement sous X''), the creation of paternity leave, the creation of 40,000 new spaces in French nursery schools, and ''Social housing reform''. She has been active in campaigns providing for "Parental time-off provisions and financial support for child illness care",
Special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...
support (''parents d'enfants handicapés''), "Benefit allocations for students starting the new school year" (''Allocation de rentrée scolaire''), and the "Prostitution of Minors Act" (''Loi contre la prostitution des mineurs'') which provides penal measures for clients. Royal has supported the "Law against child pornography", the creation of the association "Childhood and the Media" (''Enfance et média'') against violence in the media, the creation of the ''Plan Handiscole'' for the education of handicapped children and adolescents and their integration into life at school, programs for mass and individual transportation, and the creation of the program "Tourism and the Handicapped" (''Tourisme et handicap''). In 2009, she declared herself to be "profoundly shocked" by statements of Pope
Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, his resignation on 28 Februar ...
which claimed that the distribution of condoms will not stop the spread of AIDS. Royal added that "the responsibility of any religious leader" is to "defend the principle of life, and certainly not to urge human beings towards their deaths." When she accepted her nomination as the Socialist presidential candidate, Royal said: "There is a strong correlation between the status of a woman and the state of justice or injustice in a country." According to an article in
Ms. magazine ''Ms.'' is an American feminist magazine co-founded in 1971 by journalist and social/political activist Gloria Steinem. It was the first national American feminist magazine. The original editors were Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Mary Thom, Pat Carbine ...
, French women currently earn 80% of a male counterpart's salary. Royal has been a long-standing critic of violence on television. She has voiced opinions in the past linking youth crime to exposure to pornography and television violence. She also described the M6 programme '' Loft Story'', imitating the internationally popular '' Big Brother TV series'', as contrary to principles of human dignity and risking transforming viewers into voyeurs instead of providing quality programming. A law passed in February 2002, introduced by Royal on behalf of the Jospin government, allows some parental authority to be granted to same-sex partners. The law amended Article 377 of the Civil Code in allowing a parent to ask a judge to share his/her parental authority with a partner. Article 377–1, added by the law, ensures that "delegation may provide, for the needs of education of a child, that the father and mother, or one of them, shall share all or part of the exercise of parental authority with the third person delegatee". In a June 2006 interview with
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
publication '' Têtu'', Royal said "opening up marriage to same-sex couples is needed in the name of equality, visibility and respect" and said that if her party formed the next government she would introduce a bill to legalise
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
and adoption. According to her 2007 campaign website, Royal has advocated a policy of more humane prisons and supports creating better conditions inside penal institutions. The website states that she supports a system of rehabilitating offenders and reintegrating them into society.


Foreign policy

Royal initially appeared to have few opinions on several notable foreign policy subjects, such as the
accession of Turkey to the European Union Turkey is negotiating its accession to the European Union (EU) as a member state, following its application to become a full member of the European Economic Community (EEC), the predecessor of the EU, on 14 April 1987. After the ten founding ...
, merely responding, "my opinion is that of the French people." On the subject of the
Iranian nuclear program The nuclear program of Iran is one of the most scrutinized nuclear programs in the world. The military capabilities of the program are possible through its mass enrichment activities in facilities such as Natanz and Arak. In June 2025, t ...
, Royal also took conflicting positions. She initially took a very hard line in a televised debate, contending that any nuclear power programme in Iran must be prevented since it would inevitably lead to weapons production. When she was criticised by French politicians for not understanding the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperatio ...
– which gives signatories the right to nuclear power for non-military purposes – Royal softened her position and, through a spokesman, said that a civil nuclear program should be allowed as long as UN inspectors were permitted to conduct spot checks.


International tours


Middle East

In early December 2006, controversy followed a brief tour of the Middle East. Meeting
Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
politician Ali Ammar, she took exception to his use of the euphemism "Zionist entity", but did not take issue with his comparison of the
Palestinian territories The occupied Palestinian territories, also referred to as the Palestinian territories, consist of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip—two regions of the former Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine ...
to France under German occupation during World War II. This attracted criticism in France and in Israel which Royal visited next. However, the French ambassador to
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
, Bernard Emié, backed her explanation that she did not hear "the offending remarks" – the discussion took place via an interpreter supplied by the Lebanese parliament. In the same visit, Royal thanked the minister for being so "frank" when he described US foreign policy in the Middle East as "unlimited American insanity".


China

Royal visited
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
in January 2007; after speaking with a lawyer in that country she noted to the press that he had pointed out to her that the Chinese legal system was "faster" than the French one. She was immediately reminded by her opponents at home that the Chinese system orders 10,000 executions each year, and that defence lawyers there must be authorised by the Communist Party. She however brought up with her hosts the fate of three Chinese journalists recently imprisoned, and criticised the "meekness" of French entrepreneurs in tackling new markets such as China. Royal was criticised by French and international media by what was called "mangling the French language" in a soundbite delivered on the
Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' long wall") is a series of fortifications in China. They were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against vario ...
. She used the word ''bravitude'' instead of the word ''bravoure'', which means ''bravery''.


Canada: Support for the Quebec independence movement

In January 2007, during a meeting with Quebec opposition leader and
Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (PQ; , ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishi ...
head André Boisclair, she declared her support for the
Quebec sovereignty movement The Quebec sovereignty movement (French: ''mouvement souverainiste du Québec'', ) is a political movement advocating for Quebec's independence from Canada. Proponents argue that Quebecers form a distinct nation with a unique culture, language, ...
in its aim to secede from Canada. Royal said Quebec and France share common values, including "sovereignty and Quebec's freedom". Soon after, Royal took a phone call from comedian Gérald Dahan pretending to be Quebec Premier Jean Charest, and was tricked into making a quip about
Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...
's independence: "Not all French people would be opposed." She then added, "But don't repeat that or we'll have another scandal on our hands."


On Afghanistan

On 5 April 2007, when commenting on the kidnapping of two Frenchmen by the
Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...
in Afghanistan, Royal called for sanctions to be imposed by the United Nations against regimes like the Taliban. This comment was widely interpreted as indicating that Royal did not understand that the Taliban no longer formed the Afghan government and that she was clueless on international matters.


Ukraine: Russian support

During the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, Royal repeatedly supported the Russian view that NATO was to blame for the war, and falsely claimed that the Mariupol hospital airstrike and the Bucha massacre never happened. According to her, the events were "war propaganda" promoted by Ukrainian president
Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...
to interrupt the peace process. Royal's claims were condemned by
Olivier Faure Olivier Faure (; born 18 August 1968) is a French politician who has served as the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party, First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party since 2018 and Deputy (France), Member of the Nati ...
, the leader of Royal's Socialist Party, and Raphaël Glucksmann, its leader in the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
.


Hijacking 'Africa-led' clean energy scheme

On 30 April 2017, Youba Sokona resigned from the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative, citing “European interference o impose EU-preferred projectsin African governance that belongs to another era.” Reports surfaced directly accusing Ségolène Royal of undermining African leadership. The initiative was scrapped in 2017.


Personal life

From the late 1970s, Royal was the partner of
François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...
, later to become
President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the po ...
, whom she met at ENA. The couple had four children. They were neither married (considering it too "
bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...
") nor bound by a PACS ( pacte civil de solidarité, which provides for a civil union between two adults, regardless of gender), contrary to rumours. A news agency leaked news of their separation in June 2007, on the evening of the legislative election. According to the ''Guardian'', she had asked Hollande "to move out of the house" and pursue his new love interest "which has been detailed in books and newspapers" – a reference to a much-discussed chapter by journalists explaining how Hollande was having a long-term affair with a journalist. Royal's eldest son, Thomas Hollande, served as an adviser to her during her presidential candidacy, working on a website designed to appeal to young voters. Her brother Antoine named their brother Gérard Royal as the agent who placed the bomb that sank the Greenpeace ship ''Rainbow Warrior''. But other sources claim that this statement is exaggerated and that Gérard was part of the logistics team. Royal's cousin Anne-Christine Royal followed the paternal side of the family and has been a candidate of the far-right Front National party at a local election in
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
. Royal was listed as one of the fifty best-dressed over 50 by ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' in March 2013.


Bibliography

:Royal is the author unless otherwise noted. * ''Le Printemps des grands-parents: la nouvelle alliance des âges'' (Paris : Cogite-R. Laffont, 1987) , (Paris: France Loisirs, 1988) , (Paris: Presses pocket, 1989) . * ''Le Ras-le-bol des bébés zappeurs'' (Paris: R. Laffont, 1989) , cover "Télé-massacre, l'overdose?", subjects): Télévision et enfants, Violence—A la télévision. * ''Pays, paysans, paysages'' (Paris: R. Laffont, 1993) , subject(s): Environnement—Protection—France; Politique de l'environnement—France; Développement rural—France. * France. Ministère de l'environnement (1991–1997) ''Ségolène Royal, une année d'actions pour la planète: avril 1992 – mars 1993'' (Paris : Ministère de l'environnement, ca 1993), subject(s): Politique de l'environnement—France. * France. Assemblée nationale (1958–) Commission des affaires étrangères ''Rapport d'information sur les suites de la Conférence de Rio / présenté par M. Roland Nungesser et Mme Ségolène Royal (Paris : Assemblée nationale, 1994) , subject(s): Développement durable; Conférence des Nations unies sur l'environnement et le développement. * ''La vérité d'une femme'' (Paris: Stock, 1996) , subject(s): Pratiques politiques—France—1970–. * Laguerre, Christian ''École, informatique et nouveaux comportements'' préf. de Ségolène Royal (Paris; Montréal (Québec): Éd. l'Harmattan, 1999) , subject(s): Informatique—Aspect social; Éducation et informatique; Ordinateurs et enfants. * Sassier, Monique ''Construire la médiation familiale : arguments et propositions'' preface by Ségolène Royal (Paris: Dunod, 2001) . * Amar, Cécile and Hassoux, Didier ''Ségolène et François'' (
aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Konstantinidis, Greek architect * ...
: Privé, impr. 2005) , subject(s): Royal, Ségolène (1953–) – Biographies; Hollande, François (1954–) – Biographies. * Bernard, Daniel ''Madame Royal'' (
aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Konstantinidis, Greek architect * ...
Jacob-Duvernet, impr. 2005) , subject(s): Royal, Ségolène (1953–) – Biographies; France—Politique et gouvernement—1958–. * ''Désir d'avenir'' (
aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Konstantinidis, Greek architect * ...
: Flammarion, eptember 2006 . * Malouines-Me ''La Madone et le Culbuto – Ou l'Inlassable Ambition de Ségolène Royal et François Hollande'' (
aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Konstantinidis, Greek architect * ...
Fayard, April 2006, series: LITT.GENE, . * ''Maintenant – Ségolène Royal répond à Marie-Françoise Colombani''. (Hachette Littérature et Flammarion, 2007), . * ''Ma plus belle histoire, C'EST VOUS''. (Grasset, 2007), . * ''Femme Debout''. (Denoël, 2009), . * ''Lettre à tous les résignés et indignés qui veulent des solutions''. (Plon, 2011), . * ''Cette belle idée du courage''. (Grasset, 2013), . * ''Refusez la cruauté du monde ! Le temps d’aimer est venu'', (Rocher, 2023).


References


External links


Ségolène Royal official page
French National Assembly {{DEFAULTSORT:Royal, Segolene 1953 births Living people People from Dakar People of French West Africa Socialist Party (France) politicians Ministers of the environment of France Deputies of the 9th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 10th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 11th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 12th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Members of Parliament for Deux-Sèvres French general councillors Candidates in the 2007 French presidential election François Hollande French socialist feminists Women government ministers of France 21st-century French women politicians French lawyers Sciences Po alumni École nationale d'administration alumni Commanders of the Ordre du Mérite Maritime French political writers