Paris - Segolene Royal, the defeated Socialist Party candidate in last year's French presidential election, is expected to announce later Wednesday that she is a candidate to replace her former partner as party chief, French media reported.

The party will elect a successor to its current head, Francois Hollande, during its next congress, which is due to begin Friday in the city of Reims.

Royal's heavy defeat at the hands of President Nicolas Sarkozy in May 2007 threw the Socialists into disarray, with many of the party's old guard, such as former prime minister Lionel Jospin, harshly criticizing the campaign she ran and her attempt to forge an alliance with centrist Francois Bayrou.

Shortly after the electoral defeat, Royal announced that she and Hollande, the father of her four children, were separating.

It is widely believed that Hollande, like Jospin and other so- called party elephants, were supporting the popular mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoe, to head the party and to become its presidential candidate in 2012.

In addition, former labour minister Martine Aubry, currently mayor of Lille, may openly challenge Royal for the post.

The race for party leadership is widely seen as a precursor to the battle to represent the party at the 2012 presidential election.

In a recent vote among Socialist Party members, Royal's platform finished ahead of those associated with Aubry, Delanoe and a fourth candidate, Benoit Hamon. (dpa)