Photo Gallery Ségolène Royal
Royal pressing the flesh over the weekend outside a factory on the outskirts of Paris. Her warm personal approach has won her many admirers.
Royal is hoping to attract young voters. Last week she addressed a meeting in a night-club in Clermont-Ferrand, in central France.
Her campaign team has attracted plenty of enthusiastic young people. Here she poses with supporters, some wearing t-shirts with the slogan: "No future without you."
Royal signs her book "Maintenant," ("Now") on Tuesday evening, in which she talks about family, feminism and life in politics.
Also known as Ségo, the 53-year-old mother of four is, trying to promote a new kind of socialsm and leftist patriotism. Some have criticized her platform for being too vague and for promising too much without explaining how she will deliver.
While Royal's campaign has been bumpy at times, she has performed well on TV.
Many of Royal's critics mocked her early popularity as a media-created sensation. But a France rife with malaise seemed ready for a breath of fresh air.
Royal's forays onto the world stage have been far from glittering. A number of gaffes, including her comments on the efficiency of the Chinese legal system, left her looking inexperienced and incompetent.
Her life partner Francois Hollande is the leader of the Socialist Party (PS), who himself had once coveted the Elysée Palace. Royal has distanced herself from the party machinery and tried to present herself as new kind of socialist.
Nicolas Sarkozy is the front-runner in the presidential race. The right-wing candidate is hugely ambitious. He and Royal are currently the favorites to get past the first round of elections on April 22 to face each other in the run-off.
Centerist candidate Francois Bayrou has attracted disenchanted voters. But he may have peaked too soon.
