If the defeat was harsh in the presidential elections for Les Républicains, one of its figureheads, Rachida Dati, is more motivated than ever for the legislative elections which will be held on June 12 and 19. The mayor of the 7th arrondissement of Paris was the guest of It’s up to you on France 5 on June 8, 2022 to defend its ideas and values in politics. With her usual verve, she sometimes made one of the show’s columnists, who was used to having repartee, Patrick Cohen, stutter.
Journalist specializing in politics, Patrick Cohen delivered his column this Wednesday evening by choosing to decipher the trends for the legislative elections for the presidential majority. It is difficult not to dwell on the difficulties of the LRs after the debacle of the first round which saw Valérie Pécresse below the 5% threshold. Rachida Dati reacted with irony: “If I listen to your editorial, the game is over! (…) You say that everything will be played between the NUPES and LREM as if we did not exist.“
The exchange was lively between Rachida Dati and Patrick Cohen on the number of elected members of the Council of Paris. The former Keeper of the Seals fought to finish his argument: “I speak in terms of the number of elected. Let me finish my sentence, you will understand. (…) Comma, Mr. Cohen, comma. We are the majority group in Paris, comma, in the Council of Paris, and therefore I need a deputy in the National Assembly to amplify this fight that we are leading in Paris.”
She was then amused to see that she was often taken for her punchlines at the Council of Paris against her best enemy, the mayor of the city Anne Hidalgo. “These are permanent debates at the Council of Paris. You don’t see them. What interests you is our [à Anne Hidalgo et elle] fight on us“, says the 56-year-old politician. Patrick Cohen stammers an answer but he is overtaken by his guest who throws him straight in the eye: “I’m very interested in you looking at me Mr. Cohen.“What make him even more stammer. Known for her volcanic temperament, she had not hidden her anger on another, more serious subject: the accusations against Gilles Le Gendre in cases of moral and sexual harassment. They come from be dismissed without further action.