The French Minister of Culture Rachida Dati is known for her sharp pen. Photo: EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP / NTB
France’s culture minister Rachida Dati is causing a ruckus in the government. Now she is said to have threatened the prime minister to take his puppy away, writes Le Monde.
Wednesday 20 March at 12:14 p.m
The short version
- French Culture Minister Rachida Dati is causing a stir in the government after she allegedly sent controversial text messages
- According to Le Monde and the Huffington Post, Dati threatened Prime Minister Gabriel Attal to “turn his puppy into a kebab”
- Dati is a former Minister of Justice under Nicolas Sarkozy
Sea view
Politician Rachida Dati was recently appointed Minister of Culture in France. Her outspokenness creates challenges for Macron’s new government.
Dati is known for his controversial statements, and has already come into conflict with several government colleagues.
According to the French newspaper The world In an SMS, Dati called Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire a “big piece of shit”, after he made the announcement that the ministries had to save money.
Several newspapers, among others New Observer and the Huffington Post writes that it is a well-known fact that Dati has a habit of sending rude text messages.
For the series of it Huffington Post calling “murderous text messages” certainly does not stop there.
The next victim will be four-legged, and the wording is startling to say the least.
“Kebab of your dog”
France’s fresh, young Prime Minister Gabriel Attal will be the recipient.
Attal has just got a puppy, which has gotten quite a bit attention in the French press after he proudly showed off the photo in parliament.
There was no less talk about the puppy after the printers received a threat via SMS from Dati:
“I’m going to make a kebab out of your dog,” she is said to have written to the prime minister.
The background for the message is uncertain.
A number of French newspapers discuss the case on Tuesday. Dati himself denies having sent the messages.
CLOSE: Rachida Dati was spokesperson for Nicolas Sarkozy in the election campaign before he became president, and was later rewarded with the post of Minister of Justice. Photo: LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP / NTB
Close to Sarkozy
Dati is no newcomer to the elite of French politics. She was Minister of Justice under President Nicolas Sarkozy. The latter was sentenced in 2021 to three years in prison for corruption, two of which were suspended. A type of punishment where the convicted person does not have to serve time in prison unless they commit a new crime, and one with an electronic anklet.
Sarkozy also has a conviction against him for illegal campaign financing.