Rachida Dati Embroiled in Row over Thousands Spent on Luxury Clothes and Gifts While Justice Minister

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: France's state auditor refuses to validate €9,000 spent on luxury clothes, accessories, gifts and food and drink while Rachida Dati was justice minister as the glamorous MEP claims she is the victim of a "political cabal".

Rachida Dati, France's glamorous former justice minister, has hit back at the country's state auditor after it refused to pay for almost €9,000 (£6,500) her ministry spent on luxury clothes, scarves, "gifts", restaurants and patisserie while she was in office.

The Cour des Comptes ruled the state should not pay for Hermès scarves, ties and other luxury items, and also rejected a further €180,000 Ms Dati's ministry spent on "communication consulting" between 2007 and 2010 – most of it going to a company run by a friend of then-president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Ms Dati, whose love of designer clothes saw her appear in a Dior dress and fishnet stockings on the front page of Paris Match while in office, furiously denied any of the luxury garments were for her, saying they were all "presents" for foreign judicial dignitaries. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Thursday, May 14, 2015

Rachida Dati : "Qu'est-ce qui vous dérange chez moi ?"
RTL.fr: Une femme en colère. Rachida Dati, eurodéputée et maire UMP du VIIème arrondissement de Paris, était l'invitée de RTL, ce matin. Elle est longuement revenue sur l'affaire des tests de paternité concernant sa petite fille, Zohra, trois ans et demi. Elle a posé la question "Qu'est-ce qui vous dérange chez moi ?" à "une certaine presse qui ne fait plus d'information mais du sensationnel, pour ne pas dire du voyeurisme". Elle a également annoncé avoir porté plainte au pénal contrec et le magazine le Point. (+ video | + audio) » | vendredi 09 novembre 2012

lePARISIEN.fr: Paternité de Zohra : Dati porte plainte contre «Le Point» » | LeParisien.fr | vendredi 09 novembre 2012

Rachida Dati: France's Male Politicians Should Have Their 'Quadruple' Sex Lives Exposed

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Rachida Dati has called for the 'quadruple, triple' sex lives of France's male politicians to be exposed after the controversy over Valerie Trierweiler's previous boyfriends.

Ms Dati, 46, who was France's first woman justice minister in Nicolas Sarkozy's government, was speaking out after what she described as "shameful" revelations about the romantic life of the country's first lady, Miss Trierweiler, 47.

Last week it emerged that Ms Trierweiler was once the shared mistress of Francois Hollande, now France's socialist president, and minister Patrick Devedjian, a conservative.

Not only was Ms Trierweiler married at the time, but so was Mr Devedjian, and Mr Hollande was living with the mother of his four children.

Now Ms Dati, whose own colourful romantic history was frequently raised when she was justice minister between 2007 and 2009, said high-profile women involved in adulterous affairs were treated unfairly.

"I think it's shameful what's done and what's been written about Valerie Trierweiler," she told Europe 1 radio station. » | Peter Allen, Paris | Saturday, October 13, 2012

Rachida Dati, Immigrant's Daughter, Battles to Help Nicolas Sarkozy Win Back Far-Right Supporters

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: As Nicolas Sarkozy courts the far-Right vote in rural France, how can his favourite immigrant's daughter, Rachida Dati, help? She tells Kim Willsher why he must win.

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

Rachida Dati Accuses French PM of Sexism and Elitism

THE GUARDIAN: In open letter to Le Monde former French minister launches scathing attack on political colleague François Fillon

She was Nicolas Sarkozy's pin-up for diversity, the first Muslim woman with north African parents to hold a major French government post. But Rachida Dati has now turned on her own party elite with such ferocity that some have suggested she should be expelled from the president's ruling party.

Dati launched a blistering attack on the prime minister, François Fillon, under whom she served as justice minister, accusing him of sexism, elitism, arrogance and hindering the political advancement of ethnic minorities.

The row started over who will run for parliament in a wealthy rightwing constituency on the left bank in Paris, a safe seat for Sarkozy's ruling UMP. Dati is already a local mayor in the neighbourhood, a job felt to have been handed to her on a plate when she was a Sarkozy favourite. She has since fallen from grace, and when she left government she took a European parliament seat, considered a consolation prize.

She now wants to be a Paris MP. But Fillon wants the same Paris seat when he steps down, after next year's election. Both have their eye on the main prize: running for Paris mayor in 2014.

For months, Dati warned she would refuse to stand aside. Now she has stunned the political class with an open letter to Fillon in Le Monde, a scathing character assassination accusing him of the "lone ambition" of a disillusioned political elite, of doing politics in a way that "never favoured women" and stopping ethnic-minority candidates from progressing at elections. She said he was committing "a sad mistake" in trying to run in Paris. » | Angelique Chrisafis in Paris | Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Le frère de Rachida Dati tente de se suicider

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le frère de l'ex-ministre française de la Justice, Rachida Dati, a tenté de se pendre avec ses lacets de chaussures. Il devait être jugé notamment pour vols avec violence.

Jamal Dati, le frère de l’eurodéputée et ex-Garde des Sceaux Rachida Dati, a tenté de se suicider jeudi dans les toilettes du tribunal de Briey (Meurthe-et-Moselle), où il devait être jugé en comparution immédiate, a-t-on appris vendredi de source judiciaire.

M. Dati, 39 ans, a tenté de se pendre avec les lacets de ses chaussures. "Normalement, les lacets et les chaussures sont retirés, mais au vu de la saleté des lieux, l’escorte policière a consenti à les lui laisser", a indiqué une source proche du dossier. » | AFP | Vendredi 14 Octobre 2011

Frenchman Locked Up for Asking Rachida Dati for 'an Inflation'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A Frenchman was locked up for two days and is facing criminal charges for sending a joke email to Rachida Dati, the former Justice Minister, asking for "an inflation".

The unnamed 40-year-old contacted the MEP at the European Parliament in Strasbourg last week following her appearance on a national radio station when she confused the words "fellatio" and "inflation" – which sound similar in French.

At the time Miss Dati managed to laugh off the mix-up, saying she had spoken too quickly.

After Miss Dati complained about the joke email, the home of sender from Bourg de Péage region of south east France, was raided by Lyon's Judicial Police.

Ivan Flaud, the man's lawyer, said: "My client's computer was seized and he was remanded in custody for 48 hours."

The man was traced through the IP address on his personal computer.

After being kept in a cell and then placed on bail he was ordered to appear in court on December 3 charged with displaying contempt towards a public servant, an offence which is punishable with a prison sentence of up to a month and a €10,000 (£8,700) fine. >>> Peter Allen, in Paris | Friday, October 29, 2010


Lapsus: Dati confond "inflation" et... "fellation"
Uploaded by LePostfr. - Up-to-the minute news videos.
LE MONDE: Gardé à vue pour une "petite inflation" : Un plaisantin, amusé par le lapsus de l'ex-garde des sceaux sur Canal + fin septembre, qui avait parlé de "fellation" au lieu d'"inflation", s'est retrouvé 48 heures en garde à vue la semaine dernière – appartement perquisitionné, ordinateur saisi – pour avoir envoyé à Rachida Dati au Parlement européen un courriel lui proposant une petite "inflation". >>> LE MONDE | Vendredi 29 Octobre 2010

LE POST: Gardé à vue 48h pour des mails graveleux à Dati : "Disproportionné pour une blague potache" >>> | Vendredi 29 Octobre 2010

Methinks that Rachida Dati takes herself far too seriously! It was she who made the mistake in the first place. She should now rise above it all, grow up, show her mettle, and take it all on the chin. – © Mark

Rachida Dati Plotted to Oust Carla Bruni from Elysee Palace, Book Claims
THE TELEGRAPH: Carla Bruni-Sarkozy was the target of a plot by Rachida Dati, a rival and former justice minister, to oust the French first lady from the Elysée Palace and to bring back President Nicolas Sarkozy's second wife, an official biography has claimed.

The book says that Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy received a police and security services file in March – including phone call listings and text messages – showing that Miss Dati and Sophie Douzal, the President's ex-sister-in-law, conspired by spreading rumours and stories to have her removed and replaced by Cécilia Attias, whom he divorced in October 2007. Mr Sarkozy married Carla Bruni in February 2008.

The claims are made in Carla and the Ambitious by journalists Michael Darmon and Yves Derai, released on Thursday, the day after another, unauthorised, biography hit bookshops in France.

Miss Dati, a former star of Mr Sarkozy's cabinet who fell out of favour with the president, was prepared to "stop at nothing to return to such dizzy heights," the authors wrote. As a result, she and her fellow plotter "hatched a plan more fitting of the tradition of salon scheming than of a modern political fight. Rachida Dati and Miss Douzal believed Carla Bruni was a weak link in the presidency. Their plan was to bring back Cecilia to the Elysée."

The book says that Ms Dati and Miss Douzal planned to spread rumours about Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy's infidelity and stories that Ms Attias was "bored" living in New York and "dreamed" of returning to politics.

After perusing the police report, a furious Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy phoned Cécilia in New York, where she lives with her new husband Richard Attias and Mr Sarkozy's youngest son Louis, to warn her against taking part in the plot. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Thursday, September 16, 2010

Rachida Dati «une maman heureuse»
FIGARO BLOG: Deux mois après avoir été suspectée par des proches de Nicolas Sarkozy d’avoir propagé des rumeurs sur le couple présidentiel - ce qu'elle a toujours nié -, Rachida Dati veut offrir un visage serein et apaisé. L’ex Garde des Sceaux a laissé Paris-Match faire son portrait sous la plume de son ami l’écrivain Tahar Ben Jelloun. Un portrait politique mais aussi, en filigrane, intime. L’hebdomadaire montre sur sa couverture Rachida Dati et sa fille Zohra, dont la face est masquée par sa frange, en train de se promener dans le jardin des Plantes.

Très discrète sur sa vie de mère, Rachida Dati, qui contrôle très strictement l'image de sa fille, réfute à nouveau toute disgrâce entre elle et l’Elysée. «On peut être fidèle en amitié et ne pas se voir pendant des années. Je lui suis loyale. Je n’ai jamais dit quand je le voyais. Je sais que l’amitié et l’affection sont toujours là. Nicolas Sarkozy est profondément humain», assure-t-elle. «Je soutiens son action, il le sait, il me fait confiance, je l’espère, en tout cas j’ai confiance en lui». >>> Par Constance Jamet | Mercredi 12 Mai 2010

L’ancienne ministre de la Justice a reçu les insignes de Grand Officier Wissam Al Alaoui
GALA.fr: Vendredi, Rachida Dati a été décorée par El Mostafa Sahel, l’ambassadeur du Maroc, qui a tenu à rendre hommage à la «trajectoire exemplaire» de l’eurodéputée.

«C’est un exemple pour tous les jeunes issus de l’immigration», expliquait vendredi dernier l’ambassadeur du Maroc, en parlant de Rachida Dati. L’ex-ministre de la Justice a été décorée des insignes de Grand Officier du Wissam Al Alaoui, au nom du roi du Maroc, Mohamed VI. >>> | Lundi 26 Avril 2010

Nicolas Sarkozy 'Ordered French MI5 to Find Out Who Was Behind Affair Rumours'
THE TELEGRAPH: Carla Bruni-Sarkozy's attempt to defuse rumours she and her husband were having affairs has backfired after it emerged Nicolas Sarkozy ordered French counter-intelligence to find out who was behind the rumours.

The revelation came just three hours after the president's wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy went on air to deny there was any inquiry into speculation the couple's marriage was in trouble.

The first lady's radio interview was designed to counter claims that her husband believed the rumours of infidelity were part of an international conspiracy against France, but her damage limitation exercise backfired on one crucial point.

Press reports on Wednesday said that President Sarkozy ordered the DCRI, France's counterespionage service, to root out the source of unsubstantiated rumours that both he and his wife were having affairs. The reports said as part of the inquiry, Rachida Dati, the former justice minister, was bugged and subsequently declared persona non grata by the Elysée. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Thursday, April 08, 2010

Related:

Various articles on this story both in English and French >>>

Nicolas Sarkozy, a Modern Louis XVI?
THE GUARDIAN: The French president's techniques to uncover the source of rumours would not have been out of place in the ancien régime

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy sounded like an 18th-century first lady who lunches, when she appeared live on French national radio to laugh off rumours about infidelity at the Élysée Palace. "Non," she purred, there was nothing in the silly claims. She had not fallen for a hunky young pop singer called Benjamin Biolay and, "non", her husband, Nicolas Sarkozy, was not being comforted by a young minister-come-karate champion called Chantal Jouanno. Moreover, there would be no possibility of revenge against the disloyal underlings accused of spreading the gossip – particularly former justice minister Rachida Dati who, Carla added ominously, remained "our friend".

So that was that all sorted then? Pas du tout! Forgetting all the grim allusions to affairs of state (or inter-ministerial "karaoke sessions" as one of Sarkozy's more entertaining wives once described them), what the latest scandal teaches us is that the court of the French head of state is as vindictive and cruel as it was in the days of Marie Antoinette and her husband Louis XVI.

Within hours of Bruni-Sarkozy's devastating reference to Dati, the former head of the DCRI, the Gallic version of MI5, appeared on another radio station to confirm that he had been ordered to find and punish the blabbermouth. This was not long after Dati, who is now an MEP, had been stripped of her chauffeur-driven car, three bodyguards and even governmental smart phone. >>> Nabila Ramdani | Friday, April 09, 2010

Nicolas Sarkozy in Marriage Rumour Bugging Claims
THE TELEGRAPH: Nicolas Sarkozy's campaign to find out who started rumours alleging he and his wife were having affairs threatened to spiral into an affair of state, amid reports claiming that his former justice minister was bugged to see whether she instigated them.

Reports claim that Sarkozy's former justice minister was bugged to see whether she instigated the affair rumours. Photograph: The Telegraph
Mr Sarkozy said last month he did not have "half a minute" to spare on "idiotic" rumours over the state of his marriage after they appeared on Twitter and the blog on the website of a respected weekly newspaper.

But just when the buzz over the rumour that Carla Bruni-Sarkozy had an affair with the musician Benjamin Biolay while her husband sought solace in the arms of Chantal Jouanno, his ecology minister, began to fade, the presidents' aides launched a virulent counter-attack this week.

Pierre Charon, Mr Sarkozy's chief communication adviser, promised to wage a campaign of terror against rumour-mongers, apparently pointing the finger at the president's former justice minister, Rachida Dati, and suggesting there may be a concerted plot by foreign "financial" circles to discredit the president because he preaches regulating global capitalism. The name of Dominique de Villepin, Mr Sarkozy's arch-rival, was also thrown into the mix by other Elysée sources.

Yesterday, sources were claiming that French domestic intelligence had bugged the phone calls of Miss Dati, a fallen cabinet star and now the mayor of Paris' 7th arrondissement and an MEP, and surmised that she had either started or spread the rumours.

A government spokesman denied the bugging claims, but Mr Sarkozy's chief adviser yesterday said the president "does not want to see Rachida Dati anymore", apparently confirming he holds her at least in part responsible for the rumours. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Related / Liens en relation avec l’article:

LE FIGARO: Face aux rumeurs, Dati se dit «scandalisée» >>> Par figaro.fr le | Mercredi 07 Avril 2010

LE POINT: Rumeurs sur la vie privée du couple présidentiel : RÉACTION - Me Herzog, avocat de Sarkozy : "Je ne peux pas exclure que ce soit une machination" >>> Par Cyriel Martin | Mardi 06 Avril 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Carla Bruni attempts to calm storm over marriage rumours: The scandal surrounding rumours over the state of Nicolas Sarkozy's marriage last night threatened to spiral into an affair of state. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Wednesday, April 07, 2010

LE FIGARO: Rumeurs : pour Carla Sarkozy, «il n'y a pas de complot» : «Il n'y a pas de vengeance, ces rumeurs insignifiantes ne nous concernent en rien», assure la première dame, qui dément également l'existence d'une enquête sur l'origine des ragots. Une version contredite par le patron du renseignement intérieur. >>> Par Constance Jamet | Mercredi 07 Avril 2010

TIMES ONLINE: Nicolas Sarkozy pays for not letting rumour die: President Sarkozy’s attempts to quash rumours about problems in his marriage have backfired after his advisers spoke out about an international plot, blamed a glamorous former minister and ordered the state security service to investigate. >>> Charles Bremner, Paris | Thursday, April 08, 2010

Face aux rumeurs, Dati se dit «scandalisée»
Rachida Dati espère voir le président «très bientôt» Photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: «Il faut que ça cesse», a martelé mercredi matin l'ex-garde des Sceaux, qui dément avoir propagé des on-dit sur le couple Sarkozy et réaffirme sa loyauté envers le chef de l'Etat.

Rachida Dati contre-attaque. Au cœur de la tourmente depuis que la presse cite son nom dans l'affaire des rumeurs sur la vie privée du couple Sarkozy, l'ex-garde des Sceaux a demandé mercredi matin sur RTL à ce que «ça cesse». «Les rumeurs, les calomnies, les ragots sur la vie personnelle et en général sont absolument inadmissibles et scandaleux. Je suis mise en cause indirectement et donc je trouve ça extrêmement scandaleux», s'est insurgée la députée européenne. >>> Par figaro.fr le | Mercredi 07 Avril 2010

Sarkozy Blames 'Anglo-Saxon Financiers' For Spreading Rumours About His Marriage As Dati Protests Her Innocence
MAIL ONLINE: French president Nicolas Sarkozy has accused British financiers of being part of a 'plot' to destabilise his country's economy by spreading rumours his marriage was in crisis.

The furious president is is said to believe that 'Anglo-Saxon financiers' may have started rumours that he and wife Carla Bruni were both having affairs.

The comments from his spokesman came as former justice minister Rachida Dati formally denied that she was behind the rumours.

In the latest dramatic twist to the Elysee Palace soap opera, the 44-year-old single mother ‘denied vehemently’ having said that the President and his wife were both having affairs.

Her comments came as a criminal inquiry was launched into the scandal, with those found guilty facing prison.

The president's spokesman Pierre Charon has ordered a 'campaign of terror' against those who started the rumours, which first appeared on Twitter then in newspapers across Europe.

The Elyseé Palace seems persuaded that the rumours originated in the Anglo-Saxon dominated financial markets as part of a conspiracy to initiate speculation against French debt.

'We shall find out if there has now been some kind of organised plot involving financial movements,' Mr Charon said in an interview with internet newspaper Rue 89.

'The fact that these rumours were spread in the newspapers in Britain, Germany and Switzerland makes us think of a conspiracy while France is preparing to take over the presidency of the G20 in 2011,' he said.

France's first couple were at the centre of media frenzy last month after false rumours erupted that Ms Bruni was having an affair with pop star Benjamin Biolay, six years her junior.

Mr Sarkozy was said to have sought comfort in the arms his attractive ecology minister Chantal Jouanno, a claim she has denied.

Those responsible for starting the rumours will be 'hunted down and punbished'[sic] and a criminal investigation had been launched by police and intelligence agencies, Mr Charon said.

He added: 'We are going to war on these ignominious reports. We want to take things as far as we can to make sure this will never happen again. We want those who tried to spread fear to feel fear themselves.'

France's left-wing Liberation [sic] newspaper described the language used as 'paranoid'.

French daily Sud-Ouest wrote: 'Can't Mr sarkozy see that it is precisely this kind of threatening language that makes people want to target him in the first place.'

And reporters at the Journal du Dimanche - which repeated the rumours in a blog on the paper's website - protested what they called the 'unprecedented bullying and inquisitorial' attitude of the Elysie. >>> Mail Foreign Service | Tuesday, April 06, 2010

LE POINT: Rumeurs sur la vie privée du couple présidentiel : RÉACTION - Me Herzog, avocat de Sarkozy : "Je ne peux pas exclure que ce soit une machination" >>> Par Cyriel Martin | Mardi 06 Avril 2010

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Rumeurs sur les Sarkozy: "Rachida Dati n'est pas impliquée" : FRANCE | Le rôle prêté à Rachida Dati dans la propagation de rumeurs autour de la vie privée du couple présidentiel est "impensable" et susceptible de relever de la diffamation, a déclaré l'avocat de l'ex-garde des Sceaux, Me Georges Kiejman. >>> AFP | Mardi 06 Avril 2010

Rumeurs sur la vie privée du couple présidentiel : RÉACTION - Me Herzog, avocat de Sarkozy : "Je ne peux pas exclure que ce soit une machination"
Me Thierry Herzog, l'avocat de Nicolas Sarkozy, laisse entendre que "quelqu'un" pourrait être "derrière" la propagation des rumeurs concernant la vie privée du couple présidentiel. Photo : Le Point
LE POINT: Les rumeurs ont atteint le Château. Deux mois après l'apparition de ragots sur la vie privée du couple présidentiel, c'est l'avocat du président de la République, Me Thierry Herzog, qui a pris la parole pour défendre son client. "Le simple fait que deux rumeurs croisées soient publiées dans le même temps, une concernant Mme Carla Bruni et l'autre concernant le président de la République, (...) permet de penser que ce n'est certainement pas neutre et que quelqu'un est derrière la propagation de ces rumeurs", a déclaré Me Herzog, lundi soir, sur RTL , insistant au passage sur le fait que les liaisons évoquées étaient "totalement infondées". 



Commentant la plainte contre X déposée par la société éditrice du Journal du Dimanche (groupe Lagardère) pour "introduction frauduleuse de données dans un système informatique", après la publication de ces rumeurs sur un blog hébergé par le site jdd.fr, l'avocat du président de la République a déclaré : "Cette plainte a donné lieu à une enquête, cette enquête est actuellement en cours, et elle a pour but de savoir si ceux qui ont fait paraître ces rumeurs sur ces blogs l'ont fait pour eux-mêmes ou étaient instrumentalisés, soit par des officines soit par des particuliers qui auraient souhaité ou qui souhaiteraient déstabiliser la vie du couple Sarkozy." >>> Par Cyriel Martin | Mardi 06 Avril 2010

Vie privée du couple présidentiel : COLÈRE - Rachida Dati : "Je proteste avec indignation"
Rachida Dati serait soupçonnée par l'Élysée d'avoir alimenté et même cautionné certaines rumeurs entourant le couple présidentiel. Photo : Le Point
LE POINT: Au soir du premier tour des régionales, Rachida Dati avait été la première à appeler l'UMP et l'exécutif à un "retour aux fondamentaux". C'est désormais la première à se défendre. Dans un communiqué diffusé dimanche soir, l'ancienne ministre de la Justice "proteste avec indignation contre les allégations de certains organes de presse lui prêtant une quelconque responsabilité dans la propagation de rumeurs absurdes et inadmissibles sur la vie privée du couple présidentiel". "Outre l'exercice de son droit de réponse", Rachida Dati "se réserve le droit d'agir en diffamation contre ceux qui reprendraient cette allégation dénuée de tout fondement et la reliant de surcroît à la suppression naturelle de sa protection policière, présentée comme une sanction", ajoute le communiqué.

La raison de la colère ? Plusieurs articles de presse ont fait état, ces derniers jours, d'une "disgrâce" de Rachida Dati auprès du président Nicolas Sarkozy après la publication mercredi par Le Canard Enchaîné d'une information révélée le 25 mars dernier par Le Point , selon laquelle elle s'est vu retirer après le 1er tour des régionales, le 14 mars, le bénéfice d'une Peugeot 607 et l'escorte de trois policiers restés à sa disposition depuis son départ du gouvernement. Le Journal du Dimanche affirme que l'ancienne porte-parole de la campagne présidentielle de Nicolas Sarkozy "est soupçonnée par l'Élysée d'avoir alimenté et même cautionné certaines rumeurs entourant le couple présidentiel". Le JDD va même plus loin, assurant "qu'une enquête des services de renseignement français (...) ciblerait notamment Rachida Dati dans la diffusion d'informations jugées malveillantes à l'Élysée"... >>> lepoint.fr | Lundi 05 Avril 2010

Wütender Präsident: Sarkozy nimmt schöner Ex-Ministerin Dienstwagen weg
BLICK.ch: PARIS – Sie war der Star seines Kabinetts. Jetzt ist Sarkozys Ex-Ministerin Rachida Dati bös in Ungnade gefallen: Der Präsident entzog über Nacht ihr Dienstwagen, Bodyguards und Handy.

Früher war sie seine Justizministerin, ein Star im Kabinett. Als Maghreb-stämmige Französin verschaffte Rachida Dati dem französischen Präsident auch Sympathien bei den Einwanderern.

Doch als Sarkozy kürzlich an Abend im TV seine schöne Ex-Ministerin und jetzige Europaabgeordnete bei einem Auftritt sah, wurde er fuchsteufelswild, wie «Le Canard Enchaîné» berichtet: «Was macht die denn da?», habe er sich empört. «Im Wahlkampf hat man nichts von ihr gehört, und jetzt stellt sie sich vor die Kameras!»

Sarko fackelte nicht lang und griff zum Telefon«Noch in derselben Stunde» musste der Leiter der Polizei Datis Wagen samt Fahrer und den drei Leibwächter entziehen. Im Umfeld der konservativen Politikerin hiess es, ob die Anordnung von Sarkozy gekommen sei, sei unklar. «Klar ist, dass es eine Entscheidung des Innenministeriums war.» Letzte Fahrt vom Studio nach Hause >>> SDA/bih | Mittwoch, 31. März 2010

Rachida Dati Blamed for Sarkozy Affairs Rumours
THE TELEGRAPH: Former French cabinet star, Rachida Dati, has had her government security team withdrawn after being blamed for spreading rumours about the state of Nicolas Sarkozy’s marriage.

Rachida Dati. Photograph: the Telegraph
The president is said to believe his former justice minister, now an MEP, started talk that his wife was having an affair with Benjamin Biolay, a pop singer, while he was seeing his ecology minister, Chantal Jouanno.

She has now been deprived her of her chauffeur-driven limousine and three bodyguards in mysterious circumstances.

Mr Sarkozy has dismissed the affair allegations as idiotic “rantings” but is said to be privately bent on finding out who was behind them.

It is understood he took “retaliatory action” against Miss Dati, 44, the night his ruling Right-wing UMP party suffered a drubbing in the first round of regional elections on March 14.

The president was sitting at the Elysée Palace watching the fallout from his electoral debacle on the television, when Miss Dati appeared on France 2 — the French BBC1— and appeared to criticise his strategy.

Mr Sarkozy suddenly saw red, not simply because of her mild criticism, but because he suspects the former justice minister of spreading, or even starting, rumours about the state of his marriage.

He is understood to have instantly picked up the phone and ordered Frédéric Péchenard, France’s national police chief, to cut off Miss Dati’s limousine graciously provided by the interior ministry, her driver and police bodyguards “within the hour”. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Dati: Burka 'Not a Religious Expression'
Dati: 'The burka does not correspond to our values'. Photograph: BBC
BCC: The former French justice minister, Rachida Dati, has condemned the wearing of the burka, saying that it "does not correspond" to European values.

Ms Dati, the first person of North African descent to serve in the French cabinet, is in the UK to visit the Justice Secretary Jack Straw's Blackburn constituency.

In a rare interview, she told Today programme reporter Zubeida Malik that "it's important to remind what helps citizens live together and have a common destiny and living together and having a common destiny means having principles and values in common.

"And it's true that the burka" - the wearing of which is now the subject of heated debate in France - "does not correspond neither to our values nor to our principles whether French or British and not even European. So it is important to say no to this expression that is not a religious expression."

Ms Dati rejected suggestions that banning the burka and other face veils would make them more popular. "We have to remember that often women who wear the burka are either doing it out of ignorance or others are motivated by an activism linked to the creation of a new identity," she said.

"And to those for whom it represents the expression of an identity, it is important to say that in our countries there can't be any confrontation of identities. There is one single identity based upon common values and principles shared by our countries."

Rachida Dati was a lawyer when she was named as French justice minister by President Sarkozy in 2007. She was the first person of North African origin to hold a top government post in Paris.

Born in 1965 to a Moroccan mason father and an Algerian mother, Ms Dati was one of 12 children raised in humble circumstances. Aged 16, she started working as a carer in a private clinic, looking after her younger sisters and brothers after her mother's death. >>> | Friday, February 19, 2010

Rachida Dati veut être au côté de Nicolas Sarkozy en 2012
LE FIGARO: L'ancienne garde des Sceaux multiplie les déplacements en France et à l'étranger. L'occasion de vérifier sa popularité.

«Pour moi, l'ambition n'est pas un gros mot, ce n'est pas un tabou.» Ces mots, prononcés jeudi soir à Londres devant une centaine d'expatriés militants UMP, sont ceux de Rachida Dati. Six mois après son départ forcé du gouvernement, l'ancienne ministre de la Justice regarde devant elle. Et elle peut savourer une victoire : même «exilée» à Strasbourg, elle n'est pas sortie des écrans radar. Toujours aussi présente, toujours aussi demandée, elle multiplie les déplacements en France et à l'étranger. Et remplit les salles. «Alain Juppé et Xavier Bertrand sont les derniers à être venus. Ils n'ont pas eu plus de monde que Rachida Dati. En fait, elle a fait mieux qu'eux», glisse un adhérent UMP. Pour les régionales, elle ira à Lyon, Avignon ou Chalon-sur-Saône, la ville de sa jeunesse. D'autres meetings sont programmés dans le Centre, en Poitou-Charentes, en Paca… «Il y aura du monde», promet-elle crânement. >>> Par Anne Rovan | Vendredi 19 Février 2010

Rachida Dati violemment critiquée par son frère
Jamal Dati, au moment de son procès pour trafic de stupéfiants. Crédits photo : Le Figaro
LE FIGARO: Dans le livre «A l'ombre de Rachida» [sic], Jamal, le frère cadet de l'ancienne ministre de la Justice, décrit sa soeur comme autoritaire, froide et égocentrique.

«Pourquoi tout ce cinéma ?» Dans son livre «A l'ombre de Rachida» [sic], à paraître le 7 octobre chez Calmann-Lévy, le frère cadet de Rachida Dati n'est pas tendre avec l'ancienne garde des Sceaux, révèle mercredi le Nouvel Observateur, qui publie un extrait de l'ouvrage. On apprend notamment que le jour de sa sortie de la maternité avec la petite Zohra, -photo publiée dans tous les journaux-, c'est un couffin vide que tenait en réalité la ministre. «En fait, ils ont fait sortir le nourrisson sans Rachida, en catimini, pour éviter la presse», explique-t-il. «C'est pourquoi on voit ma nièce, Sânnaa, pouffer sur les photos à la sortie de la maternité : l'entourage fait semblant de regarder pendant que les journalistes mitraillent la nouvelle maman», rapporte son frère, tout en s'interrogeant sur le bien-fondé d'une telle supercherie. >>> F.G. (lefigaro.fr) | Mercredi 30 Septembre 2009

Dans l’ombre de Rachida >>> de Jamal Dati – Bientôt disponible

Charles Bremner: Brother Takes Axe to Rachida Dati
TIMES ONLINE – BLOGS: You remember this picture of Rachida Dati, the former star of the Sarkozy government, leaving the clinic with her new-born baby in her arms ? Her immediate return to work as Justice Minister earned her headlines around the world. We hear today that she wasn't holding Zohra, her daughter, just an empty baby-carrier swathed in a blanket.

This is related in a book out this week by Jamal Dati, the younger brother of the ambitious and difficult Sarkozy protegée who was cast out of the government last June and exiled to the European parliament. Scraps of A [Dans] l'Ombre de Rachida [in Rachida's Shadow] appear in le Parisien today. They make clear that Jamal, who recently spent a few months in prison for drug dealing, is out to settle accounts with the sister whose Cinderella life story was meant to inspire France's immigrant working class.

Dati, one of 12 children of a Moroccan-Algerian couple, is depicted as hard-hearted and ruthless. Those qualities are usually mentioned by those who have fallen out with the woman who is seen by the establishment as a pushy parvenue. Dati refused to have anything to do with her black sheep brother when she was minister, he says. "Every time I tried to talk to her she turned a deaf ear." He accuses his sister of having him locked up because he was a nuisance. He gave a bracelet to Zohra, he says. "She did not even thank me. She just said 'put it down there'. She did not want to take the gift in here hands. That hurt me."

The stunt on leaving the hospital last January was part of Dati's meticulous management of her image, he says. The child was taken away through a side entrance and then cared for by Dati's sister for months, says the brother. Comment here >>> Charles Bremner | Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Rachida Dati 'Forced to Take Unconventional Route to Motherhood'
THE TELEGRAPH: Rachida Dati, the French justice minister, has defended her decision to return to work five days after giving birth in her first interview since her lightning-fast maternity leave.

Photo of Rachida Dati courtesy of The Telegraph
Miss Dati, 43, who has fallen from grace with President Nicolas Sarkozy, said that her decision to return immediately to work was personal and not an attempt to prove she was a "high-performance" superwoman.

"My health was up to it and I would have done nothing against my doctor's advice. You mustn't believe that I wasn't tired. Of course I was. I'm not 20 anymore. Moreover, I'm justice minister, I have my duties," she told Le Journal du Dimanche. "But, fundamentally, I believe that the most important right of women is freedom," she said, in an interview that was published on International Women's Day.

France's first minister of North African descent ignited a fierce debate after giving birth by Caesarean section to baby Zohra in January, with several feminists saying she had done a disservice to working women by rushing back to the office so soon.

The unmarried Miss Dati, who has described her private life as "complicated", reaffirmed that she had no intention of naming the father of her daughter, merely adding: "Of course I would have dreamed of starting a more conventional family, but life decided otherwise."

Among those who have denied being the father are Mr Sarkozy's brother François, a Qatari prosecutor and Jose Maria Aznar, the former Spanish prime minister.

Miss Dati, who is also mayor of Paris' chic 7th arrondissement, responded to allegations that have sapped her star status, including that she had bullied staff and magistrates, was more fond of fashion and gems than ministerial dossiers and had more or less been fired by Mr Sarkozy.

She defended her political record, saying that she had pushed through 30 reforms during her two years in the job, one of which other ministers had tried and failed to enact over several decades. She was not "impulsive or hot-headed", she said, but had natural "authority". >>> By Henry Samuel in Paris | Monday, March 9, 2009

leJDD.fr: Dati: "Le premier droit des femmes, c'est la liberté"

Rachida Dati a choisi la journée de la femme pour faire taire ses détracteurs et leur dire qu'à l'avenir, il faudra compter sur elle. La ministre de la Justice, qui va quitter prochainement la place Vendôme pour mener la campagne des élections européennes en Ile-de-France s'explique sur son parcours, sa médiatisation et ses réformes, et assume complètement son bilan.

Vous avez 43 ans, un premier enfant et vous changez de job. Au moins trois raisons de faire un bilan. Quel est-il?

L'événement qui a été le plus marquant pour moi, c'est la naissance de ma fille. J'ai longtemps cru ne pas pouvoir avoir d'enfant, ça a été une belle surprise. Quant au job, en briguant un mandat de députée européenne, je change de responsabilités mais pas de mission. Je reste au service des Français. J'ai l'honneur d'être ministre de la Justice, un ministère où le drame, la douleur, les difficultés sont le quotidien. J'ai plus que jamais envie de continuer à faire de la politique, c'est-à-dire d'améliorer la vie des gens. Ma capacité d'indignation reste intacte.

Depuis que vous êtes ministre, vous avez fait 30 unes de quotidiens et
60 couvertures de magazines. Mais ce sont votre personnalité, vos toilettes, vos amours qui ont monopolisé l'attention, pas vos réformes...

L'exposition venait de ma nomination. En me plaçant à la tête d'un ministère régalien, Nicolas Sarkozy a donné un signe fort à la société française. J'en ai accepté la contrepartie médiatique. Mais, vous savez, au bout d'un moment, vous ne vous reconnaissez même plus, ni dans les images ni dans les propos que l'on vous prête. >>> Propos recueillis par Anne-Laure BARRET, Marie-Laure DELORME et Marie-Christine TABET, Le Journal du Dimanche | Samedi 07 Mars 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Broché) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Relié) >>>