Royal rescues presidential hopes with commanding performance

The Socialist presidential candidate, Ségolène Royal, went some way towards dissolving doubts about her campaign with a combative and fluent performance on prime-time television last night.

Challenged with being a "media'' fantasy and incapable of governing France as a woman, Mme Royal said: "I am ready. No man with my qualifications would have been subjected to the doubts and criticisms I have received. My fundamental values as a woman are the values France now needs."

Mme Royal was answering questions from 100 voters on France's most popular channel, TF1. She gave a confident performance, especially on issues such as education, the family, health and welfare.

At one point a man in a wheelchair broke down in tears as he tried to ask a question. Mme Royal walked forward took his hand and stroked his back. The incident was a gift to someone who has occasionally posed as the would-be mother of the nation.

She was, however, less assured when dealing with hostile questions from small-businessmen and women on how she would fund her 100-point "presidential pact'' of new or increased social programmes. After stumbling at first, she said that all the new spending could be afforded without increasing France's massive national debt because there would be corresponding cuts or because her plan would "relaunch the machine of growth" in the French economy.

Her most startling promise came on euthanasia. Mme Royal said that, if elected president in the April-May elections, she would push through a law making euthanasia legal in France in some form.

"It is time to launch a public debate on this question," she said. "I would seek legislation which would allow people to face up with dignity to the most intense suffering."

Mme Royal's appearance, if not quite make or break, was vital to her hopes of reversing the momentum of the opinion polls. In 23 successive surveys since mid-January, Mme Royal has been shown losing the second round of the election on 6 May to the centre-right candidate, Nicolas Sarkozy.

In the two polls yesterday, M. Sarkozy was given a seemingly unassailable 10-point lead - 55 per cent to Mme Royal's 45 per cent.

Mme Royal captured the Socialist "nomination" by adopting centrist and unconventional positions which appealed to the wider electorate. Socialists voted for her because she seemed best placed to beat M. Sarkozy. Since she was anointed as the main centre-left candidate in November, she has tried to please her core electorate - and the far left. Her message has become at once more traditional and more confused.