Resurgent conservative Rachida Dati unveils ambitions to run for Paris mayor

The 58-year-old Dati made the announcement Wednesday on RTL radio after attending a lengthy press event the night before held by Macron in the presence of his reshuffled cabinet. 

Already mayor of Paris's 7th arrondissement, Dati will be aiming to unseat Socialist rival Anne Hidalgo, who has run city hall since 2014.

“I will hold nothing back. My aim is Paris,” Dati said. "I'll bring together all those who want things to change in Paris."

Her comments open the door to an alliance with Macron's presidential party, Renaissance.

Dati, who was ejected from the opposition Republicans Party (LR) upon her surprise appointment as culture minister, leads the “Change Paris” parliamentary group.

She tried unsuccessfully to topple Hidalgo in the 2020 mayoral race when she led the LR ticket.

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'Not a scoop'

French media reports said members of the government, while not informed in advance of Dati's candidacy, were unsurprised by the news.

“This is not a scoop,” Solidarity Minister Aurore Bergé told Sud Radio, adding that Dati was allowed to have political ambitions beyond her current job.

Meanwhile government spokesperson Prisca Thévenot said: “Rachida Dati is a free woman who is active and committed in many areas ... It's great to see a woman claiming her freedom in a world that needs that more than anything.”

Amid heightened speculation of Dati's ambitions to take the top job in Paris, Macron told the press event on Tuesday that he had not discussed the subject of the Parisian municipal campaign with his culture minister.

Instead he reiterated his desire to move towards a system of direct universal suffrage in Paris, Lyon and Marseille, describing the existing system as an "undemocratic anomaly".

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Corruption probe

Dati was a key figure in Nicolas Sarkozy's conservative government, serving as justice minister from 2007 to 2009.

The daughter of immigrants, Dati was the first person of a North African background ever to hold a major ministerial post in France.

In 2021 she was charged with corruption and abuse of power over consulting services as a lawyer to former Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn.

The investigation revolves around an estimated €900,000 in fees Dati received between 2010 and 2012, when she was also a member of the European Parliament.

Dati, who denies the allegations, has said she's a firm believer in the rule of law, and feels "very calm" in the face of her legal troubles.