The thwarted generation of socialists taking a tilt at the French presidency
The four main contenders to be the official mainstream socialist candidate for the 2017 French presidential elections, Benoît Hamon, Arnaud Montebourg, Vincent Peillon and Manuel Valls, know each other extremely well. For more than 20 years the members of this quartet have occupied important positions and roles in the Socialist Party and were once hailed as a new generation destined to modernise the party. Now, having never been able to form lasting alliances among themselves, and having been 'blocked' by the generation above them, the four are all standing against each other in the party's primary to choose a candidate for the Elysée. Stéphane Alliès and Donatien Huet report on four politicians who have waited a long time for their chance to become president.
ForFor twenty years they have waited, often impatiently, thinking of when their time will come. For fifteen years they have hoped to take control of the Socialist Party (PS) whose inner workings they were already familiar with. For ten years they have thought about becoming lieutenants as a stepping stone to higher rank one day. For five years they have known the cruel charms of being in ministerial office. And now here they are, all four of them, fighting it out against each other as the main contenders in a socialist primary contest to choose a presidential candidate for 2017. A contest that feels like it could be the end of the party in every sense, even though none of them has ever given up on their dream to make it to the Elysée.
