Love story sparks up French presidential campaign

LA ROCHELLE, France, Sep 4 (Reuters) A story of love and rivalry is spicing up the French Socialists' presidential race, with revealing photos and bedroom gossip fanning the campaign.

Segolene Royal, recently voted one of the sexiest women alive in a French magazine poll, is fighting half a dozen men to become the party's candidate for the 2007 election, including her own partner -- Socialist leader Francois Hollande.

''I wonder what the mood is like at the dinner table,'' said Denise Cacheux, a 75-year-old Socialist who travelled across France last month to see one of the country's most famous couples in action at a party congress in La Rochelle.

''They would both make good presidents,'' she said, browsing at a campaign shop selling postcards of a thoughtful Hollande, 52, next to photos of Royal, 52, smiling for the camera.

Royal, a relative newcomer on the national scene despite two decades in politics, has skyrocketed in the polls and now holds a 40-point lead over her partner -- long seen as a logical candidate because of his role as party leader.

Other opinion polls suggest that Royal is the only Socialist contender who could then go on to win the May ballot.

The Socialist party holds its primary elections in November and although neither Royal or Hollande have confirmed they will stand, their story has fascinated the media and upset rivals.

''I think it's complicating things for them. It's intriguing the public and amusing the party,'' said Jean-Christophe Cambadelis, a Socialist close to former finance minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a rival presidential candidate.

Some accuse the couple of turning the party into a family affair.

Others say Royal's candidature would hurt Hollande even if he did not run himself because he could not stay objective.

And the media has speculated whether Royal's spectacular rise has upset the love life of the politicians, who have four children but never got married.

PUPIL OVERTAKING MASTER? Recent holiday pictures published in a glossy magazine showed Royal striking an elegant pose in a turquoise bikini, while Hollande was seen slouched on a towel, reading a book entitled ''The History of France for Dummies''.

''The pictures want to make us believe that she's now running the show,'' said Bruno Le Roux, a member of the Socialist leadership who worked with Hollande for years.

''(But) it's clear he has remained the political leader ... There is no competition between them. They call each other and consult each other all the time,'' he said.

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