His political career began 20 years ago with a defeat. In 2004, the then 19-year-old Stéphane Séjourné took part in a campaign for the European Constitution – and lost. The next political engagements of the young Frenchman, who had been a member of the Parti Socialiste (S&D) since 2001, were not crowned with success either. In 2007, he helped in the election campaign of Ségolène Royale, who lost to Sarkozy in the presidential election, and in 2011 he supported Dominique Strauss-Kahn until his so-called Sofitel scandal came to light.