French candidate Royal to come to Mideast

French presidential candidate Segolene Royal will travel to Israel, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories in the coming days, a spokesman for the Socialist Party nominee said Wednesday. Lawmaker Julian Dray, a Royal spokesman, told Europe-1 radio the trip was designed to boost contacts in the Middle East, a region "where peace is threatened." Royal "decided to go make the necessary prior contacts to be able to intervene directly if she is elected president" in a region that "is at the heart of the world's problems," Dray said.