The sanction fell quickly. This Thursday, January 11, 2024, on X, Eric Ciottipresident of the Les Républicains party, announced the exclusion of Rachida Dati after she chose to join the government of Gabriel Attal. A surprising choice taken by the mayor of the 7th arrondissement of Paris, and highly contested by the opposition, and which has now led to her being excluded from the group to which she has been attached for more than 15 years: “Rachida Dati has chosen to join the Government. She places herself outside our political family. She is no longer part of the Republicans. We are in the opposition, so we draw the consequences of his choice with regret.” said the politician.
By agreeing to join the Ministry of Culture under the command of Gabriel Attal, Rachida Dati draws a line under fifteen years spent with the Republicans. Fourteen years after being Keeper of the Seals under François Fillon, Rachida Dati is making a surprise return. Mayor of the seventh arrondissement of Paris since 2008, European deputy from 2009 to 2019, she tried to get Anne Hidalgo out of Paris in 2020, but did not succeed. The two women both qualified for the second round, alongside Agnès Buzyn for LREM, but the latter refused to withdraw, thus causing her colleague to fall. Anne Hidalgo was re-elected mayor of Paris with 48.5% of the votes cast, compared to 34.3% for Rachida Dati, and 13% for Agnès Buzyn.
Stéphane Séjourné arrives, Olivier Véran leaves
The appointment of Rachida Dati to the Ministry of Culture is the surprise of this new government made official by the Secretary General of the Élysée Alexis Kohler at the end of the day. Among the surprises, Stéphane Séjourné, ex-companion of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, was also promoted to the post of Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Catherine Vautrin is appointed Minister of Labor, Health and Solidarity while Amélie Oudéa-Castéra will be at the head of both the Ministry of National Education and that of Sports, with a view to the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Unsurprisingly, Bruno Le Maire for Economy and Finance, Gérald Darmanin for Interior, Sébastien Lecornu for the Armed Forces and Éric Dupond-Moretti for Justice retain their positions.
To the spokesperson, Olivier Véran is disembarked and replaced by Prisca Thévenot, also responsible for Democratic Renewal. Marc Fesneau is in Agriculture, Christophe Béchu in Ecological Transition and Sylvie Retailleau in Higher Education. Marie Lebec is appointed Minister Delegate responsible for Relations with Parliament, and Aurore Bergé takes over from Marlène Schiappa, Elisabeth Moreno, Isabelle Lonvis-Rome and Bérangère Couillard for equality between Women and Men. The other delegated ministers and secretaries of state will be revealed in the coming hours, but the names of Claire Chazal, Maud Fontenoy and Stéphane Bern, mentioned insistently by the press for several days, seem to be completely wrong.