Alexandre Chauveau / Photo credits: NICOLAS GUYONNET / HANS LUCAS / HANS LUCAS VIA AFP
This is the main surprise of this new government, the appointment of Rachida Dati to the Ministry of Culture. Former Minister of Justice, Les Républicains mayor of the 7th arrondissement of Paris and close to Nicolas Sarkozy, his appointment on rue de Valois is a political coup.
The last minute surprise, the one that no one had anticipated. A right-wing woman, very close to Nicolas Sarkozy and renowned for her outspokenness, Rachida Dati joined a new government, that of Culture, 15 years after her departure from the Ministry of Justice.
“A woman of commitment”, defends Gabriel Attal
The new Prime Minister Gabriel Attal welcomed this Thursday evening at 8 p.m. on TF1. “She is a woman who leaves no one indifferent. Because she is a woman of commitment, of energy, who all her life fought for what she wanted to obtain. I have a lot of respect for the battles she fought,” he said.
Rachida Dati excluded from the Republicans
Her appointment, negotiated directly by Emmanuel Macron, also shakes up the situation for the 2026 municipal elections. Rachida Dati would indeed have received the blessing of the Head of State to be nominated as a candidate in Paris with the support of Macron. In other words, without a candidate from the presidential party facing her.
Among Les Républicains, his entry into government sowed discord. François-Xavier Bellamy regrets an “opportunistic” act. Éric Ciotti, for his part, announced Thursday in a concise press release the exclusion of Rachida Dati from the party.