Every August, French Socialists take their light cotton shirts and endless squabbles to La Rochelle for a "summer school". This year's was a dismal spectacle, marked by vapid declarations and shabby manoeuvring. One participant even lamented that the best speech he heard during the event was Barack Obama's at the Democratic convention in Denver.rnThe Socialists will pick a new leader at a congress in November, when Francois Hollande steps down after 11 years in the job. The candidates who have put their names forward include Segolene Royal, the losing presidential candidate in 2007 and Mr Hollande's ex-partner, and Ber-trand Delanoe, the mayor of Paris (above, right).
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