Sarkozy names Mitterrand as Culture Secretary

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has poached another star of the French Left for his rainbow government - appointing Frederic Mitterrand, the 61-year-old nephew of the late Socialist president Francois Mitterrand, as new Culture Secretary to replace Christine Albanel.

Mitterrand is a well-known writer and TV presenter and a vociferous campaigner for gay rights. As the Guardian's Paris correspondent Angelique Chrisafis reports, he represents the "ultimate prize" for the right-wing president. "It is as close as Sarkozy can get to the respected former Socialist president and idol of the Left."
 
Mitterrand has already had an impact: Sarkozy's mid-term cabinet reshuffle, due to be announced today, had to be brought forward to Tuesday because Mitterrand leaked his appointment.  

The reshuffle was not good news for the women in Sarkozy’s political life. As well as Albanel - who was dropped for failing to deliver a law on illegal internet downloading - it also saw the end of Rachida Dati's time as Justice Minister, and demotion for Rama Yade, the 32-year-old Senegalese-born minister who is sidelined from human rights to sports.

The post of Culture Secretary is a high-profile one in France and the appointment of Mitterrand has been welcomed by many in the artistic world, including Pierre Berge, the former partner of Yves Saint Laurent.

Once a teacher, Mitterrand reinvented himself in the 1980s as a TV presenter, producer and director who became famous for his arts and history programmes on state television. He also became known as a commentator on European royalty and presented a show on France's first gay cable channel, Pink TV.
 
Mitterrand's latest job is in fact a promotion by Sarkozy, who first appointed him eight months ago as head of Villa Medicis French cultural academy in Rome, one of the most prestigious French cultural institutions abroad.
 
Yesterday Mitterrand said his new role was "an exhilarating task and an honour". He sidestepped a question about whether he considered himself still on the Left, by saying: "When François Mitterrand didn't want to answer a question, he didn't. I'm the same."

Asked whether his late uncle would have approved of his decision to accept the appointment, his reply was emphatic: "Certainement!" ·