Suddenly the captivating smile vanished and her face assumed a rare iciness. This happened just after Segolene Royal, the French Socialist presidential candidate, ended her meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in his office in the Knesset - a meeting that was given extensive media coverage.

Reporters and photographers were invited to Olmert's office to cover the event. Veteran staffers of the Prime Minister's Bureau cannot recall ever seeing such a commotion. Even before Royal emerged to meet the press, dozens of photographers pushed and shoved to get a good spot and a suitable camera angle. Within moments, people were waving their hands in the air and the situation almost erupted into a brawl. Had the bodyguards not been present, the results would have been worse. Photographers who "have already seen everything" and taken pictures of presidents, prime ministers and world leaders from all over the world, fought for a strategic position as if this were a life-and-death battle.

When Royal emerged from Olmert's office, accompanied by the prime minister, the photographers went wild. For what seemed an eternity, the cameras flashed, focusing solely on the woman with the delicate features who has already attained a respectable place in the French national pantheon although she has not yet been elected president. Everyone, photographers and reporters alike, addressed her by her first name, shouting "Segolene, Segolene," as if she were a former classmate. She responded to everyone, repeatedly flashing the smile that has melted hearts in Israel, Lebanon and Jordan.

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Glad to have a respite from his many headaches, Olmert held her hand, beaming at her from time to time and trying to impress her with witticisms. Royal told him about her meetings in Lebanon and her impressions of the atmosphere in that strife-torn country. The prime minister listened to the diligent student sitting opposite him, who had entered the world's most dangerous mine field totally unprepared. Until a few months ago, he had never heard of her. Even the Israeli Foreign Ministry attributed little importance to her campaign: Ministry officials were confident that this attractive woman - whose partner is French Socialist Party leader Francois Hollande - would provide comic relief in a political saga that is too big for her to handle.

Only after she defeated her rivals and became the Socialists' presidential candidate was a "Segolene file" opened in the offices of Israel's decision-makers. This is why, with less than a day's notice, she was able to set up some very impressive meetings: Olmert made room in his schedule for a meeting, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni cleared her appointment book for an entire evening with her, and similar timetable-juggling was performed by Defense Minister Amir Peretz and the members of the Labor Party faction, the French Socialist Party's local counterpart.

The Labor faction's female members, who vied for a place beside her in the Knesset cafeteria, see Royal as a symbol for all women and are less interested in her presidential ambitions. If she succeeds, why should Colette Avital not be the president of Israel? Why should Yuli Tamir not aim for the premiership? And why should Nadia Hilou not be appointed a cabinet minister?

In all her meetings, Royal demonstrated a combination of fragility and chic that melted the hearts of all men in the immediate vicinity. Even Labor's "tough guys" - Benjamin (Fuad) Ben-Eliezer, Matan Vilnai, Yoram Marciano and Danny Yatom - became super-charming when they spoke with her. Apparently the French touch, in such circumstances, can soften even the toughest Israelis.

At a certain stage in their closed meeting, Olmert asked his guest a potentially embarrassing question: Did she really think France was ready for a woman as president? Interpreter Giselle Barzon transmitted the question to Royal, who responded unhesitatingly, "Absolument!"

Although she knows English, Royal insisted on speaking French and hearing her hosts' replies in French through an interpreter. This was a safety precaution on her part, so that she could not be accused of having misunderstood what is happening in the Middle East.

In the course of her visit in the region, rightists in France accused her of showing complete ignorance of the facts during her meetings in Lebanon. She listened without making any comments, but promised her aides she would settle accounts after returning to France. Royal was especially infuriated by French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie, who spoke to her as if she were a housewife who knew nothing about politics. "She must learn that irresponsible declarations could cost the lives of our people in Lebanon," Alliot-Marie angrily attacked her.

Snubbing the opposition

When she entered the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, immediately following her meeting with the prime minister, Royal bumped into a senior member of France's ruling right-wing Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party. Francoise de Panafieu, that party's candidate for mayor of Paris, had also come to Israel on an official visit. Their eyes met and the woman of the right said "Bon soir" to the woman of the left, and extended her hand.

"I will not shake your hand," was the response Royal hurled at her colleague-rival and left de Panafieu standing there with her hand suspended in mid-air. The members of both women's entourages were dumbfounded. The day before, de Panafieu had sharply criticized Royal for her lack of diplomatic experience and for the embarrassment she had allegedly caused France in her meeting with Lebanese members of parliament associated with Hezbollah.

"After her stinging criticism of my actions," Royal added, "I want to have nothing to do with her."

The incident received star billing in newscasts in France. Suddenly the socialist candidate's first visit to the Middle East became the hottest item in France's presidential campaign.

Only when Royal feels she is under attack does one see the other side of this woman, who has earned a reputation throughout Europe of being capable of captivating whomever and whatever she encounters with a mere smile.

In that rare moment, in a Jerusalem hotel lobby, her face tightened, her eyes flashed furiously and her lips became pursed. This happened to her once during her presidential campaign. In an appearance before young members of her party, a young girl got up and asked a question that did not please the candidate. "Who sent you?" Royal shouted. "I have the feeling that you are working for people with vested interests." The other persons present in the auditorium were visibly shocked. The girl sat down, wiping tears from her face. Only after the incident made the front pages did Royal phone the girl to apologize. "How about our meeting, just the two of us?" Royal suggested. "Gladly" was the response.

In private conversations, Royal's partner says that her iron will should never be underestimated. He is referring to her response to the right-wing strategy of trying to undermine her standing in the public's eyes. Many political commentators still believe that, in a showdown with a tough politician like Nicolas Sarkozy, she will have to concede and wave a white flag. That will not happen, her partner adds: "Trust me on this. After all, I know her very well. I live with her."

Tumultuous experience

A few hours before leaving Israel, Royal showed obvious signs that the visit had been a tumultuous experience for her. From the moment she set foot in the Middle East, she became the center of public attention. People followed her in droves in Beirut and Amman, shouting her name. At every official meeting, she was surrounded by battalions of reporters and photographers, who had come to see the "Segolene phenomenon" up close. In Jerusalem, her aides encountered a media frenzy they had never anticipated. They had thought Israelis had other concerns, and mistakenly assumed she would be considered an anonymous figure in the Holy Land.

"This is truly amazing," commented Agnes Longueville, Royal's media consultant. "Wherever we go, large crowds gather just to get a glimpse of her, even in the remotest villages in France. I do not know whether they come to see her or to hear what she has to say. My feeling is that the French public has still not come to terms with the fact that a woman has come this far and that is why people come to see Royal: They want to see for themselves that she really exists."

Royal did not have enough time to prepare herself properly for her visit to Israel, because the scheduling was forced upon her. "But that's the way she works," explained Longueville. "She relies on her intuition and feels she must be constantly on the move. We were pleasantly surprised by our success in arranging meetings with all the heads of state we wanted to see, despite the short notice. She was treated everywhere as if she herself were a head of state."

For Royal, the visit to Gaza was depressing. She found it incredible to see such bleakness and distress all around her. "[Palestinian Authority Chairman] Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) did not have to say much because she could easily understand what was happening there," said Longueville. "It was dreadful. Dehumanization that seemed to be taken out of one of Primo Levi's books."

Apparently, that was why she Royal so little at Jerusalem's Montefiore Restaurant, where she had dinner with Foreign Minister Livni. Royal shared her impressions with Livni, who repeatedly nodded in agreement. Two women, two high-ranking representatives of the women's revolution that is taking place in global politics.