Paris ? Segolene Royal got a running start Thursday to her campaign to become France’s first female president, decisively beating two rivals to wrap up the nomination for the main opposition Socialist Party in a single round of voting.

The victory, which party officials announced with about 40 percent of votes counted, spared Royal a second round against her two rivals from the party’s old guard: former Prime Minister Laurent Fabius and former Finance Minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Royal, 53, has sought to tap into broader voter disillusionment with politics after two terms under conservative President Jacques Chirac marred by corruption scandals and stagnation.