French Socialists Split Over Royal Challenge

You would think France's Socialist Party would finally have a reason to rejoice and come together. It's been condemned to opposition since Lionel Jospin's calamitous defeat in the first round of the 2002 presidential elections, followed by a parliamentary vote that gave the Right an unassailable majority in the National Assembly. Now, 11 months from next May's presidential elections, a Socialist politician is not only defining the political debate, but also polling better than Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, the best candidate the otherwise hapless conservatives can produce.

So...