.

Born to a poor immigrant Muslim family, France's justice minister has had an astonishing political ascent, appearing in glamorous magazine shoots and holidaying with the Sarkozys. But now pregnant with a child whose father she refuses to name, and facing a rebellion by the country's judges over her 'incoherent policies', her future looks uncertain. Rachida Dati, petite in her trademark black suit and high heels, bursts into the gilded dining room of her justice ministry, late for breakfast. She beams her famous "Plexiglass smile" - polite but guarded - and flashes a look that says, "I'm not finished yet." Dati is a French icon, Nicolas Sarkozy's hand-picked symbol of change: the first Muslim woman to hold a major government post. She adores appearing on magazine covers but is defensive in briefings, bristling at critics and, when cornered, she repeats her unfailing devotion to her mentor Sarkozy and his right-wing policies. She doesn't l...