Rachida Dati seems an unlikely figure to be wooing supporters of France's far right Front National party.
Needs must, however, and the daughter of a North African bricklayer who clawed her way to the top of the establishment ladder, before falling out of favour with President Nicolas Sarkozy, is now a key figure in his desperate battle to salvage his political career.
In his hour of need, Mr Sarkozy is rallying the troops to win over the 6.4 million French electors who voted for Marine Le Pen in the first round of the presidential election a week ago.
In response to being returned to the fold as one of the president's cheerleaders, Miss Dati has launched a spirited defence of what critics have called a "moral fault" by the current president, accusing him of veering dangerously into FN territory to save his skin.
"You cannot say that these people, 18 per cent of the electorate, are racists and xenophobic. It's not true," Miss Dati told The Sunday Telegraph in an exclusive interview.
"I have met and talked to FN voters and they are exasperated and afraid that the socialists will come to power. They are worried about Europe being a colander in terms of immigration, they are worried about companies moving elsewhere, they are worried about jobs and the cost of living, and security.
"It's for us to say to the FN voters, 'We have heard your preoccupations', to say to them that while the FN may have raised some good questions, it has proposed no solutions except rejecting others, creating scapegoats and the politics of hatred." » | Kim Willsher in Paris | Sunday, April 29, 2012
