The presidency on Thursday announced that Catherine Pégard, a former magazine editor and former head of the Palace of Versailles, will take over the coveted culture portfolio from Rachida Dati. The reshuffle has already been overshadowed by a heated row in the Paris mayoral race, in which Dati is running.
Dati, 60, resigned late on Wednesday to focus on her bid to become mayor of Paris. She is running as the mainstream conservative candidate in municipal elections scheduled for March, and wasted no time making headlines as she launched her campaign.
