Rachel, a mother of five, is 47 years old. Born in a town north of the capital, Abidjan, she assumed responsibility for her siblings at the age of twelve following the death of her mother. And at the age of 26, she arrived in France.
She held several jobs, including as a hairdresser, cleaning hotel rooms, and then a nanny. She obtained citizenship in 2015 in a country she “adores” and for which her grandfather fought during World War II, according to her statement.
When she worked as a housekeeper in hotels in France, her name came to prominence during the 22-month strike by female workers at the Ibis Batignolle hotel in Paris, during which Rachel Kecky put forward the demands of her colleagues as their spokeswoman. Within two years of struggle, she won her case.
Having become a symbol of the union struggle and the mass it achieved, it reached the General Assembly because of the confidence placed in it by the French electorate.
“I want to be the voice of the voiceless.” Such was the ambition that Rachel Keke had set for herself by contesting a seat in the National Assembly. On Sunday, June 19, she was elected with 50.3% of the vote against the “Together” candidate.
In her statement to the French “France Info” website, she said, “I think my victory gives confidence to other workers, who are domestic workers, who should not underestimate themselves.”
How was it discovered?
When she campaigned in 2019 for better wages and working conditions and addressed the demands of fellow workers who had fought for 22 months, she was met by Eric Coquerel, a deputy of France Proud, who admired her toughness and strength.
Speaking to Sky News Arabia, he said, “She is a strong woman, a true fighter and self-taught. When I met her, I realized that this segment of society should have a voice in the General Assembly, so I decided to invite her to join the party.”
He continues, “It represents a group that works in silence and suffers from racism, contempt and discrimination, and today it has restored the dignity of all those who suffered from these problems. Its victory gives hope for the future and is a beautiful thing for the party and all workers.”
fierce fight
For his part, Claude Levy, representative of the prestigious Syndicate of Hotels, praised the work of the new deputy. In a call with “Sky News Arabia”, he considered her victory “a great thing, and through it she will convey the voice of all female workers and professions that are not talked about.”
He explains, “Through our dealings with her during the two-year struggle she fought against a hotel in Paris, framing the successive strikes of workers under her leadership and attending the meetings organized by her election campaign, I am certain that she is a fierce fighter and wants to change the living conditions of the workforce in France.”
And he asserts that “its victory imposes respect for these invisible professions and calls for the necessity for their owners to obtain the pensions that guarantee them a decent life.”
Responding to potential attacks on her lack of training and political experience, Rachel warned the French media on the night of her victory that “if she was spoken to in the language of French graduates of the Institute of Political Sciences, she would respond as a suburban”.
She added, “We know the level of the worker, and we know that I don’t have a bac +5. I say how I feel. If someone asks me a question about something I don’t understand, I won’t answer. The media should get used to that.”
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