"Ambition is not a bad word": Rachida Dati, the journey of a political powerhouse

Minister of Culture, candidate "whatever happens" in the legislative by-election in the 2nd constituency of Paris, mayor of the 7th arrondissement... Rachida Dati sees herself above all as mayor of the capital in 2026, despite the strong political enmities she arouses and the legal proceedings against her.

Some see her as a careerist, a schemer ready to do anything to succeed. Others admire her audacity, her pugnacity and her determination. "Ambition is not a bad word ," she said on the program Vie Privée Vie Publique , on France 3 on March 30, 2009. "The ambition to succeed, to get by..."

Leaving the council estate in Chalon-sur-Saône where she grew up, she achieved social advancement without denying her past or her origins: on the contrary, she embraced them. Very early on, Rachida Dati built the network she didn't have. Thanks to the letters she sent and the encounters she initiated, she found protectors, sponsors, and patrons. Among them were Albin Chalandon, then Minister of Justice; Jean-Luc Lagardère, who partially financed her studies; and Simone Veil, whose robe she wore when she was sworn in.

The rise is indeed happening: from a nursing assistant trained on the job to a management controller, via accountant at Elf Aquitaine, the young woman built her career to finally become a magistrate, without taking the competitive exam, by exemption. A progression that makes her proud and that she never fails to mention.

It was again through a letter that she entered politics. Or rather, several, addressed to Nicolas Sarkozy, then Minister of the Interior. He didn't respond, she insisted. He hired her as an advisor in 2002, and she lobbied to follow him when he was appointed to Bercy, then to the Hauts-de-Seine General Council before returning to Place Beauvau. She was still relatively unknown to the general public until Nicolas Sarkozy's campaign began in 2007 and his presidential victory.

She was then appointed Keeper of the Seals and, in the style of her mentor, occupied the media and political arena. Like him, she also stood out for her bling-bling side. In the midst of reforming the judicial map, the minister posed on the cover of Paris Match wearing a pink leopard-print Dior dress. She spent tens of thousands of euros on clothes, buying expensive luxury jewelry while eliminating hundreds of positions in the justice sector. Rachida Dati sought out and flaunted the money she didn't have growing up until she became a multimillionaire.

Barely a year after being elected as a Member of the European Parliament, she decided to become a lawyer. It must be said that this new mandate was not really to her liking, as she confided to a friend over the phone while M6 was filming a report on her and she was wearing a microphone.

"I'm in the hemicycle of the Strasbourg Parliament, I can't take it anymore. I'm forced to stay and act smart because there's a bit of a crowd..."

Rachida Dati during a telephone conversation

(Report from the 66 minutes program on M6 on December 13, 2009)

It was during this period, between 2009 and 2013, that she received €900,000 for consulting services for Renault-Nissan. Unable to really prove the existence of the work carried out, she was accused of having lobbied in the European Parliament in favor of the company and its CEO Carlos Ghosn, which has now led to her being tried for corruption and influence peddling .

At the same time, she continued her political career. Having become mayor of the very chic 7th arrondissement of Paris for the municipal elections after being parachuted into office, she put down roots there and was re-elected in 2014 and 2020. The woman who practices boxing three times a week doesn't hold back, especially against the socialist mayor of the capital, Anne Hidalgo, at every Paris Council meeting. She loves a flourish, a punchline, but her one-liners sometimes backfire. In 2021, this is how she defined Emmanuel Macron's party: "What is En Marche? They are traitors from the left and traitors from the right."

A short phrase that was recalled in 2024, when she became Minister of Culture. A nomination that once again raised eyebrows, even within the ranks of her party. But nothing could stop the right-wing woman, who declared herself a candidate in the by-election in the 2nd constituency of Paris against Michel Barnier, even though he was nominated by Les Républicains . The legal proceedings did not force her to resign from the ministry, but could constitute a serious obstacle to the next objective she has set for herself: being elected mayor of the capital in 2026.