Royal To Speak on Gender and Politics

One former female presidential candidate will likely comment on the current prospects of another, as former French Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal comes to Harvard next week to speak about the role of gender in politics and her work to revitalize the French Left.

Royal, who lost her bid to become President of France last May to conservative rival Nicolas Sarkozy, will be at Harvard in time for “Super Tuesday,” when presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will be competing in over 20 states for the nomination of the Democratic Party.

“I suspect that the topic of Hillary Clinton will come up, and [Royal’s] insights into American and French politics and what differences or similarities exist will be instructive,” said Patricia H. Craig, the executive director for the Center for European Studies (CES).

Royal, who will be visiting through a collaboration between Harvard and MIT, will be hosting two undergraduate seminars on gender in politics and the effort to rebuild the European Left. She will also be giving a talk at MIT on higher education and host a forum at the Institute of Politics next Thursday on French economic reform.

Royal’s views on the state of the French Left will be especially important considering the current chaos within the Socialist Party.

“The Left in France is in disarray and I think many are anxious to hear what her strategy for that is, where she envisions the French left in terms of its policies and how she can get the party there,” Craig said.

In addition to existing party divisions, Royal’s intention to succeed François Hollande as leader of the Socialist Party complicates matters. Long-time partners, Hollande and Royal separated after last year’s elections.

“The Left in France is in shambles,” said Arthur L. Goldhammer, a senior affiliate at CES. “The Socialist Party in particular is deeply divided.”

Goldhammer said that Royal’s bid for her party’s nomination exacerbated divisions within the party in the aftermath of her defeat.

“She obtained the nomination [despite] the objection of the ‘elephants’ [who] turned on her when she lost the election,” he said, referring to the nickname of the elders of France’s Socialist Party.

But Royal’s visit is also about looking to the future of French politics and honing her message in anticipation of a possible future run against Sarkozy, according to Craig.

She intends to visit MIT’s Media Lab—which aims to find ways to utilize technology to improve quality of life—and biotech companies to craft her strategies for promoting entrepreneurship and economic development.

Additionally, Royal will meet with a number of faculty members, including economist Amartya Sen and historian of France Stanley Hoffmann.

Goldhammer said he thinks Royal’s meetings with professors is part of her attempt to seek advice in rebuilding the Left.

“She may be looking to constitute a sort of brain trust, like Sarkozy put together in conjunction with his campaign,” he said.

Aside from inner-party turmoil, Craig feels that Royal’s U.S. visit would aid her in reforming higher education in France, which has taken on greater importance in recent years.

“I think being able to experience first hand how two of the top universities in the U.S. function will be quite illuminating, particularly as she works on her positions on university reform in France,” she said.

—Staff writer Prateek Kumar can be reached at kumar@fas.harvard.edu.