The Woman Who Would Be France's President

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After ENA, Royal joined Mitterrand's staff, and in 1988 he encouraged her to campaign for the National Assembly from a southwestern rural district. She held onto the seat in three elections and in 2004 beat the conservative incumbent to become president of Poitou-Charentes--the only woman to lead one of France's 26 regions. She has also been a central government minister--first with responsibility for the environment and then for schools, where she pushed to give parents a stronger role in the education system, passed new laws to deal with bullying and pedophilia, and made the "morning after" pill available in high schools. As France's first Minister of the Family, from 2000 to 2002, she was responsible for laws introducing paternity leave and recognizing the right of divorced fathers to play a larger role in child rearing.

She still faces a long road to the Elysée. Royal is hoping that Jospin's withdrawal will clear the way for her nomination, but that result isn't guaranteed. "The right is more or less in marching order," she says. "Everyone should get behind me instead of trying to destroy me." Her supporters leave little doubt as to what their attitude would be if party elders connived to derail her. That, says Delphine Batho, a member of the party secretariat and a Ségolène supporter, would be "just one more time that a woman has been blocked because men don't want her to succeed." Royal, say her aides, is ready for the challenge. "They're all waiting for her to crack up and start sobbing," says one. "There's nothing worse for these guys than a woman who's not fragile. And she's not, believe me." That's good. Because to win France's presidency, Royal's resilience will matter more than her high cheekbones.