French Socialist couple's row on tactics hurts left

PARIS, June 12 (Reuters) A split over tactics between the Socialist Party chief and his partner Segolene Royal, the left's losing presidential candidate, has plunged the party into fresh turmoil as it braces for a drubbing in legislative elections.

Royal has sent out feelers to centrist leader Francois Bayrou ahead of Sunday's run-off ballots for the 577-member National Assembly, despite opposition from the party's general secretary Francois Hollande.

The very public difference on the issue between Royal and Hollande, who have had four children together, reflects divisions in the Socialist leadership of the sort that helped sink Royal's bid to become France's first woman head of state last month.

Yesterday, Royal left a message on the answering machine of Bayrou, with whom she staged a debate during the presidential election in an effort to draw centrist support away from the eventual winner, right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy.

The precise content of her message was not clear. But the call itself irked Hollande and was fresh evidence of public sparring between the couple that is annoying other leading lights in the Socialist party.

''People can vote for who they like ... in a telephone democracy,'' Hollande pointedly told the Le Monde daily on Tuesday. ''She has a personal contact with Francois Bayrou, I don't,'' he added.

Hollande said he would have contacted Bayrou directly if there had been a chance of agreeing an electoral pact with the centrist's Democratic Movement (MoDems). Failing that, he had preferred to appeal to his voters instead.

The tussle over election policy reflects an increasingly bitter internal battle over the future direction of the party as a whole, following its third straight presidential defeat.

Bayrou today said he would not tell his voters who to support and had not responded to Royal's overtures ''in order to avoid any ambiguity''.

PRIVATE LIFE, PUBLIC DRAMA Royal has indicated she would like to take over as leader when Hollande steps down and the public sparring between the couple is exasperating the party, fuelling apathy among leftwing voters resigned to a huge conservative majority.

''I've had enough of political life, notably that of my own party, being driven by the relationship of one couple,'' Manuel Valls, tipped by some as a possible future party leader, said after Sunday's heavy first round defeat in legislative polls.

The ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) and its centre-right allies are set to win between 383 and 470 seats in the 557-member National Assembly, compared to 60-170 for the Socialist Party and its affiliates.

Sarkozy has urged voters to give him a large majority so he can push through tax cuts, labour reforms and other changes he says are key to revitalising the economy.

Royal yesterday blamed the party's difficulties in part on biased reporting by the media, criticising two reports by France 2 during an appearance on the state-run television channel.

She has urged leftwing voters to mobilise on Sunday to ensure a strong opposition in parliament, warning that a landslide would give the right unfettered power in France.

''What a strange idea. Democracy is supposed to be under threat because the French people don't vote left?'' countered Sarkozy during a trip to southern France.

REUTERS GT BST2255