THE TELEGRAPH: France's glamorous cabinet minister Rachida Dati could be ousted in a government reshuffle, amid complaints over her high-handed manner, authoritarianism and political inexperience.
France's judges and prison staff are no longer on speaking terms with Miss Dati, 42, the justice minister and France's first top cabinet member of North African origin.
Such is their fury against her methods that President Nicolas Sarkozy was obliged to step in personally to quell tensions, meeting the country's main magistrate's union at the Elysée palace.
The USM union said it was "satisfied" by Mr Sarkozy's reassurances but that it would not have to see whether there was any change in his protégé's "behaviour". "She is in systematic denial of all problems posed," said its president.
Elisabeth Guigou, a former Socialist justice minister, said that Mr Sarkozy's personal intervention was a "disavowal" of Miss Dati.
Mr Sarkozy has reportedly transferred much of her power to his own judicial adviser at the Elysée, Patrick Ouart.
Prison staff have threatened to block the country's jails after the Miss Dati suspended three guards following the murder of a prisoner by another inmate. She then failed to show up to an emergency meeting to discuss how to tackle exploding prison populations and record suicide rates among inmates – already 90 this year.
"The prison system is in its death throes and the Minister does not see it," they said. "If this goes on, there's going to be an explosion," they added. >>> By Henry Samuel in Paris | October 28, 2008
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