She was the first woman of north African and Muslim heritage to hold a major French government post and she redefined political celebrity in France. Now Rachida Dati wants to become mayor of Paris and take the city from the left, which has been in power for 25 years.
“I want to bring back authority,” Dati, France’s culture minister, told Le Figaro last month, promising a law and order drive to arm municipal police with guns. Her opponents call her a dangerous rightwinger who would turn the French capital into a “Trumpist laboratory”.
