Former Ivorian cleaner gains seat in Parliament

Former Ivorian cleaning lady Rachel Kéké was elected to the French parliament on Sunday.

The new member of Parliament was part of the new left-wing alliance, NUPES. The 48 year-old promised a voice to the voiceless.

“I am the voice of the voiceless. I am a maid, I am a cleaner, security guard, care assistant, home helper, I am all these invisible jobs. And at the National Assembly, these jobs will become visible”, promised newly-elected MP, Rachel Kéké.

The Ivorian replaces President Emmanuel Macron’s former sports minister, Roxana Maracineanu, in a seat representing a Paris southeaster suburb.

Friend of Rachel Kéké, Emilienne Tai-Seba, could not hide her joy.

“I am overjoyed, an enormous joy, it is the victory of the voiceless!”, she said.

Sylvie Kimissa, a cleaning lady and former colleague of Rachel Kéké added:

“We are in joy so we have no words to say… We believed in it, we are there, we are going to the Assembly, we have a representative in the Assembly!”.

Kéké was one of a group of cleaning ladies who took their employer to court over pay and working conditions and won. Being an MP was not in her plans.

“I will meet all the young people in my constituency, because these young people who no longer believe in life, these young people who are desperate, these young people who say to themselves: ‘No, France is not good, France is bad, I say no’. We are going to work together to offer young people a France with a new face”, promised the newly-elected MP.

Left-wing alliance NUPES emerged as one of the dominant political forces after Sunday’s legislative elections that resulted in the loss of President Macron’s majority in parliament.

africanews