Royal wants 'a more protective Europe'[fr][de] 

In her long-awaited speech  on 11 February, socialist candidate Ségolène Royal said that she wanted to breathe new life into European integration by "building a more protective Europe" that would be "more in line with the needs of its citizens".

Presenting her "Presidential Pact " to 15,000 supporters at the VIllepinte exhibition centre in Paris, the socialist candidate said that she wanted to rapidly put in place new "ambitious common policies" on research, energy and the environment and would seek to safeguard French-style public services in a new EU framework directive.

In a renewed attack on the European Central Bank (ECB), Royal said that, if elected, she would push to have new growth and jobs objectives carved in the statute books of the ECB and create "a government of the eurozone".

On the institutional chapter, Royal said that she would "negotiate an institutional treaty" aimed at making the EU work in "a more democratic and efficient way" that would then be put to a referendum. An unspecified "social protocol" would be written to "lift social standards" and living standards.

Other major proposals by Royal include lifting the minimum salary to €1,500 per month, up from around €1,250.