1 min read
This is the section of the Royal-Sarkozy debate when she got, as it were, hot under her collar and accused her opponent of immorality. It is also, the polls now seem to show, the moment when whatever chance she had of the presidency disappeared (watch the top clip first):
UPDATE: Oliver Kamm links to an extraordinary interview with Ms Royal. She really does seem to have lost it. As Oliver puts it:
I'm a Europhile left-winger prepared to be well disposed to Mme Royal, and I'm fairly certain I know how any responsible politician of the democratic Left would have answered this interviewer. The exchange is extraordinary. To found your electoral claim on stoking fears of violent opposition should your opponent win surely crosses the line dividing prediction from incitement. It's beyond negative campaigning: it's actively inflammatory, and I hope Mme Royal's standing suffers appropriately.