And what a dud. Ugh. If churning out same-old, same-old was supposed to be the plan for creating new momentum in the campaign, perhaps she should have just stayed quiet for a few months longer. New ideas are obviously not of any interest to Royal so they might as well just move up the election and start the coronation process for Sarkozy now. What an absolute disappointment.
Although Mme Royal, 53, presents herself as a non-ideological politician, close to the people, her programme was mostly a standard, left-of-centre litany of proposals for state spending and intervention. She did, however, promise to de-centralise and reform the state machine; to lift the tax burden on businesses that invest in new techniques or create jobs; and to create military boot camps for delinquent youngsters ."Like a mother?" What the hell is that? If she actually did give a damn about the suburbs and society as a whole, she would have been discussing solutions for this considerable problem instead of talking about mothering the country.
At one point, Mme Royal promised that, if elected, she would care for France - especially young French people - "like a mother".
Speaking of the country's troubled multiracial suburbs, she said: "As a mother, the things that I wanted for my own four children, I want for all the children of France." Mme Royal was then interrupted by five minutes of cheering and chants of "Ségolène Presidente". She blinked tears from her eyes before continuing.
