The night-walkers of Uganda

6
Vocabulary 
Word Stress
Put these words from the text into two groups according to their stress.
support process secret police agent complex
except recruit blackmail punish about believe
Ceausescu’s child spies
Level 1 
l
Elementary
A. 0 o
B. o 0
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Madame la Présidente? 
Level 1 
l
Elementary
1
Pre-Reading 1
Have you heard of Ségolène Royal?
What do you know about her?
2
Pre-Reading 2 Key Words
Fill the gaps using these words from the text.
the left unemployed male chauvinism a clique 
provinces a trade union riots social inequalities
1. 
is the belief that men are much better than women.
2. People whose political ideas are more socialist that conservative are known as
. 
3. 
are very big differences between the rich and the poor.
4. People who can’t find a job are
.
5. People who are very angry about their situation sometimes take part in violent protests or 
. 
6. Workers can join an organization called
because they want better pay or working conditions.
7. Countries are sometimes divided into different areas or
.
8. 
is a small group of people who seem very unfriendly to others.
Now read the article and see if you were right.
Madame La Présidente?
Could Ségolène Royal become France’s first female head of state, asks Angelique Chrisafis 
1
In a sports hall in a small town outside Bordeaux, a crowd of more than 1,000 fans suddenly jumped up,
arms waving, and began stamping and clapping to a popular Italian second world war song: “Bella, ciao! 
Bella, ciao! Bella, ciao, ciao, ciao!” At the back of the hall, smiling warmly, appeared ‘La Bella’, Ségolène 
Royal.
2
Royal, the 53-year-old mother of four and head of the regional government in Poitou-Charentes, is now very 
popular. She is the only MP among the top 50 most-loved personalities in France, with her picture in all 
France’s celebrity magazines. They love her personal success story: she was the shy teenage daughter of a
strict Catholic army colonel who punished his children brutally and thought women should stay at home like 
his wife; now she is fighting against French male chauvinism.
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3
Royal doesn’t agree that only men should rule the French left. She has stopped helping the older men who 
run the socialist party - “les éléphants”. She now has her own movement, Désirs d’Avenir - “Wishes for the 
Future”, and an army of loyal supporters. They believe that she alone can save France from the poverty
and terrible social inequalities of 12 years under President Jacques Chirac.
4
France certainly has problems. Lots of young people are unemployed, and violent crime is increasing.
Last year, teenagers rioted against racism in the poor immigrant suburbs, and many are afraid it will happen 
again. Nicolas Sarkozy, the centre-right interior minister who would also like to be president, is openly trying
to attract the far-right with his strict immigration policies.
5
Royal’s huge popular support makes her seem the only possible Socialist president. But the elephants don’t 
agree. They say she is inexperienced, and her popularity cannot last. “It is going to be nasty,” admits one
Royal supporter. 
6
Like the last Socialist president, François Mitterrand, who she once worked for, Royal is hoping to get 
support from the provinces. She visits them, promising to give more power to the regions. In one village, 
more than 200 wine-makers who may lose their vines as Europe tries to reduce its wine-lake were very 
impressed. The old ladies lined up to kiss her and be photographed with her.
7
“It’s all about the people,” she smiled between meetings in Bordeaux. I asked her what kept her going:
“My need to rise to the challenge of the trust that the people, the country, has given me.” 
8
At the exclusive Ecole National d’Administration, where the French ruling class are trained, Royal was in the 
same class as the prime minister, Dominique de Villepin. There, too, she met her partner, François Hollande.
Later, she worked in the ministries of education, environment, family and childhood, while he became Socialist