Mais oui: Supermum Dati driven out of job
But, with all the breathless drama of a French farce, the glamorous justice minister who became France’s most famous single mother, has been forced out of the government — just a week after she said the chances of that happening were “non, non, et non”.
Petite in her trademark black suit and high heels, Rachida Dati, 43, was a symbol of Sarkozy’s desire to inject diversity into French politics.
He celebrated her against-the-odds success story, as the second of 12 children born to a Moroccan labourer and illiterate Algerian mother.
But she will leave the government later this year to stand for a Parisien seat in the June European elections.
Dati was the first person from a north African background to reach a senior French cabinet position and was feted when she took office in 2007.
But her reputation has suffered in recent months, with critics accusing her of developing a taste for luxury and being heavy handed with magistrates, prison guards and her own staff.
Sarkozy was said to have been unhappy with her erratic performance, but decided against removing her in a recent government reshuffle, looking instead for a more dignified exit.
She raised eyebrows this month when she rushed back to work just five days after giving birth.
Some women said she was the ultimate superwoman, proving she could juggle a prestigious job and motherhood. But others said she was betraying women who had long fought for maternity leave. One feminist described her behaviour as on a par with “working women in the 1920s who gave birth on the factory floor”.
Her departure from the justice ministry is not without a subplot. A divorcee, Dati has not named the father of her daughter, Zohra, fuelling speculation that the candidate is high-profile. Quelle scandal!
