Ségolène Royal was showered with praise on Friday, even from some of her fiercest critics, after she won a crushing majority of votes to become the first woman presidential candidate of France’s opposition Socialist party.

Jean-Pierre Raffarin, the former centre-right prime minister, saluted Ms Royal’s “beautiful personal performance” in winning more than 60 per cent of Socialist votes. The praise is surprising from Mr Raffarin, whose local fiefdom of Poitou-Charente fell to Ms Royal in the 2004 regional elections.