Royal, 53, is the campaign's big surprise. Considered an extreme long-shot only 18 months ago, she won a landslide victory in the Socialist primary last November. Her emphasis on "participative democracy" appealed to grass-roots voters alienated from the political elite, and she is today the first woman in French history with a legitimate shot at the presidency. One of eight children born into the strict Catholic family of a French army colonel, she spent her early childhood on a military base in Senegal and in a village in Lorraine. Although Royal is considered a fresh face in the presidential race, she's a political veteran. In 1981, at 27, Royal joined a team of advisers to then-President François Mitterrand. She later held ministerial posts dealing with the environment, the family and schools. In 2004, she scored a major political victory when she defeated incumbent Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin for an important regional presidency. Royal has four children with longtime partner François Hollande, who has headed the Socialist Party for 10 years.