Rachida Dati sacked by Nicolas Sarkozy

Rachida Dati, France's glamourous Justice Minister, is to leave Nicolas Sarkozy's government. Dati, 43, who caused a controversy earlier this month when she returned to work five days after giving birth to her first child, is said to have initially resisted, but the French daily Le Figaro claims that she is now "resigned" to going and that she will stand down in June, allowing her to fight for a seat in the European parliament elections.

Sarkozy has made no secret of the fact - in private at least - that he was dissatisfied with Dati, the first Muslim woman with north African parents to hold a major French ministerial post. Her Justice Ministry has lurched from crisis to crisis, and her unpopularity among judges and lawyers was felt to be overshadowing Sarkozy's plans to reform the judicial system.

But it wasn't just down to her ineptitude. Her steadfast refusal to name the father of her daughter, Zohra, has been the cause of constant speculation. As reported here, the finger of suspicion has pointed at President Sarkozy's younger brother, Francois, Jose Maria Aznar, the former Spanish Prime Minister, Bernard Laporte, the French Sports Minister, and Dominique Desseigne, the chairman of the Barriere casino and hotel group, all of whom have been forced to publically deny the rumours.

It also didn’t help that the First Lady was cold towards her. In a now infamous Elysee Palace story, Carla Bruni is alleged to have pointed to Sarkozy’s bed and, turning to Dati, said: "You'd have loved to occupy it, wouldn't you?"

Dati's refusal to take maternity leave also prompted controversy – even if she had little choice. Segolene Royal, the Socialist politician and former presidential candidate, accused Sarkozy of bullying Dati into returning to work for the announcement of a key justice reform, which he had scheduled himself.
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