Rachida Dati Signals Political Ambitions for 2022 French Presidential Race

"I am more determined than ever in view of a totally dislocated France," she said in an interview with the newspaper Le Parisien. However, she is not ready to announce her candidacy for the 2022 presidential election. "Everyone can be a candidate. My goal is to guarantee the collective dynamic and not to weaken my political family," she said.

The former Keeper of the Seals under Nicolas Sarkozy is showing optimism. "What is certain is that we must uphold our values, even if the presidential election will not really start until after the regional elections (in June 2020, editor’s note). I have no doubt that the right will emerge strengthened as in the previous elections." However, she is playing the card of vigilance. "I tell my friends, let’s not fall into the trap of Emmanuel Macron, who has understood that France is predominantly on our values, and wants to divide us to weaken us," she warned.

In order to rally more young people to the cause of the right, the former candidate for the Paris mayor’s office has launched a platform called "La France vous appartient" ("France Belongs to You"). "We are told that an entire youth no longer feels integrated into France. I don’t believe they reject France, but they no longer find their place in a common destiny. We need to hear this anger," she explained. According to her, it is better to "channel it politically and democratically rather than leaving the anti-Republicans to turn it against the Republic."