THE SUNDAY TIMES: A Gulf dignitary is the latest to be named as the possible father of the French minister's child
THE guessing game over the paternity of the baby girl that Rachida Dati, the French justice minister, gave birth to last month has taken an unlikely twist with a book’s claim that the father is the attorney-general of Qatar.
Ali Bin Fetais al-Marri, one of the most senior dignitaries in the Gulf state, has made no comment but joins a distinguished list of suspects. Among those who have denied being the father are Jose Maria Aznar, the conservative former prime minister of Spain, and François Sarkozy, brother of the French president.
In their book, the journalists Michaël Darmon and Yves Derai reveal that Dati, 43, the first Arab to have occupied such a senior ministerial post in France, has regularly visited Qatar – sometimes as much as three times a month – and that Marri, 44, often spends weekends in Paris.
He studied at the Sorbonne and, according to his curriculum vitae, has received the Légion d’honneur, France’s highest civilian honour, and is married. He and Dati have been seen dining together in Paris.
“He is a great Francophile who does not hesitate to use his charms to achieve his goals,” a French diplomat is quoted as saying in the book.
At a conference in Doha in April last year, Dati lavishly praised Marri, referring to “our frequent exchanges” which had helped to fight scourges such as terrorism and organised crime.
The unmarried Dati was reported to have said that “the daddy travels quite a lot” and that Zohra, born on January 2 in Paris, has his eyes.
Even so, the identity has been as closely guarded a secret as the French nuclear codes. >>> Matthew Campbell in Paris | Sunday, February 8, 2009
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