Rachel Keke Explained

Rachel Keke
Office:Member of the National Assembly
for Val-de-Marne's 7th constituency
Term Start:22 June 2022
Term End:9 June 2024
Predecessor:Jean-Jacques Bridey
Successor:Vincent Jeanbrun
Birth Date:30 May 1974
Birth Place:Abobo, Ivory Coast
Birth Name:Rachel Keke Raïssa
Party:La France Insoumise
Children:5
Profession:Housekeeper

Rachel Keke Raïssa (in French pronounced as /ʁaʃɛl keke ʁaisa/; born 30 May 1974) is an Ivorian-born French politician and former chambermaid. A member of the National Assembly from 2022 to 2024, she represents the 7th constituency of the Val-de-Marne department.[1] She is a member of La France Insoumise (LFI).

Early life

Keke was born on 30 May 1974 in Abobo, Ivory Coast.[2] [3] Her father was a bus driver and her mother sold clothing, until her death when Keke was 12. Her grandfather fought with the French forces during World War II. At the age of 16, she began working as a hairdresser and other odd jobs.[4]

Keke moved to France in 2000 (following the 1999 Ivorian coup d'état that overthrew Henri Konan Bédié), taking up a job as a hairdresser in the hair salon of a relative, also finding work as a chambermaid and housekeeper. She was naturalised as a French citizen in 2015.[5]

Career

Union leader

A CGT trade union representative[2] between 2019 and 2021, she was one of the leaders of a successful at the Ibis hotel in Batignolles, Paris.[6] Twenty workers, employed as subcontractors, struck for better pay and improved working conditions beginning in July 2019, and signed an agreement winning the majority of their demands in May 2021.[7]

Keke began working as a chambermaid at the Ibis Batignolles hotel in April 2003, employed by a series of subcontractors. A part-time worker, until 2017 she was unsuccessful in seeking a full-time role.[8] She became a housekeeper in 2019. Her health was affected by her working conditions, and she went out sick in February 2019.[9] Her net monthly salary rose from 1,300 to 1,700 euros thanks to the success of the 2019-2021 strike.[10] She said that the job "destroys the body. There are carpal tunnel syndromes, tendonitis, back pain...".[11] In the course of her work, she also confronted racism and several attempted sexual assaults.[12] [13] [8]

Member of Parliament, 2022-2024

In the first round of the 2022 French legislative election, Keke was a candidate for La France Insoumise (LFI) on the New Ecological and Social People's Union (NUPES) slate, the left-wing alliance of political parties. Running for the 7th constituency of the Val-de-Marne department, Keke finished first with 37.22% of the vote; Roxana Maracineanu, former Sports Minister and Olympic silver medalist swimmer, came in second, making the runoff with 23.77%.[14] [15] Keke's campaign focused on outreach to non-voters, while Maracineanu called for a "republican front against the far left"; this drew criticism from the NUPES who saw this as equating them with France's extreme right. In the second and final round, Keke won by 177 votes, scoring 51.38% of the vote against 48.62% for Maracineanu.[16] A profile by France24 noted that Keke's election (along with other newly elected deputies such as Rassemblement national's Katiana Levavasseur) indicated a growing trend of elected politicians from lower economic backgrounds taking up office.[17]

She stood out during her first steps in the National French Assembly, denouncing the refusal of the members of the presidential majority to increase the minimum wage to extend the "prime Macron". She accuses them of not knowing what it is to receive only 800 euros a month, of despising essential professions and not knowing their suffering.[18]

In the 2024 election, she lost her seat in the second round to Republican's Vincent Jeanbrun.

Personal life

Keke has five children. In 2016, she married Bobby Yodé, a zouglou musician.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Législatives. Rachel Keke (Nupes) élue dans la 7e circonscription du Val-de-Marne . 2022-06-19 . actu.fr . 19 June 2022 . fr . 2022-06-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220620054825/https://actu.fr/politique/elections-legislatives/legislatives-rachel-keke-nupes-elue-dans-la-7e-circonscription-du-val-de-marne_51733612.html . live .
  2. Web site: Hermann . Oswald . Actualités France :: Législatives 2022, Rachel Kéké: voici l'ivoirienne qui a battu un ex-ministre :: France news . camer.be . 2022-06-21 . fr.
  3. News: June 19, 2022 . Législatives 2022. Qui est Rachel Keke, ex-femme de chambre élue à l'Assemblée nationale ? . Ouest-France .
  4. Web site: Média . Prisma . Rachel Keke . Gala.fr . 2022-06-21 . fr.
  5. News: 2022-06-19 . French legislative elections: Naturalized chambermaid beats ex-sports minister to Parliament . en . Le Monde.fr . live . 2022-06-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220620054825/https://www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/article/2022/06/19/french-legislative-elections-naturalized-chambermaid-beats-ex-sports-minister-to-parliament_5987393_5.html . 2022-06-20.
  6. Web site: 2022-05-31 . 'Something magnetic about her': French ex-chambermaid Rachel Keke runs for MP after labour battle . 2022-06-19 . France 24 . en . 2022-06-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220616051638/https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20220531-something-magnetic-about-her-french-ex-chambermaid-runs-for-mp-after-labour-battle . live .
  7. Web site: 2021-05-26 . Paris hotel cleaners claim landmark win after 22-month 'battle for dignity' . 2022-06-20 . France 24 . en.
  8. Web site: 2022-05-17 . Rachel Keke, " guerrière " et femme de chambre, bientôt à l'Assemblée ? . 2023-11-28 . www.20minutes.fr . fr.
  9. Web site: 2019-08-14 . VIDÉO. En France, la révolte des femmes de chambre africaines TV5MONDE - Informations . 2023-11-28 . information.tv5monde.com . fr.
  10. Web site: 2022-05-29 . Législatives : Rachel Keke, la femme de chambre prête à faire "trembler l'Assemblée nationale" . 2023-11-28 . Franceinfo . fr-FR.
  11. Web site: 2022-05-25 . Rachel Kéké, une femme de chambre à l'assaut de l'Assemblée nationale . 2023-11-28 . Le Point . fr.
  12. Web site: 2022-05-26 . PORTRAIT. Législatives 2022 : Rachel Kéké, élue à l'Assemblée nationale . 2023-11-28 . France 3 Paris Ile-de-France . fr-FR.
  13. Web site: La gauche tente de nouveaux visages .
  14. Web site: 2022-06-19 . Rachel Keke, la femme de chambre de l'Ibis Batignolles, débarque à l'Assemblée . 2022-06-19 . L'Obs . fr . 2022-06-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220620054827/https://www.nouvelobs.com/elections-legislatives-2022/20220619.OBS59908/rachel-keke-la-femme-de-chambre-de-l-ibis-batignolles-debarque-a-l-assemblee.html . live .
  15. Web site: 2022-06-17 . Cleaner who led pay strike faces former minister in Paris election . 2022-06-19 . the Guardian . en . 2022-06-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220617171133/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/17/cleaner-who-led-pay-strike-runs-to-be-mp-in-french-elections-rachel-keke . live .
  16. Web site: Résultats législatives: Rachel Keke s'impose dans le Val-de-Marne, face à l'ancienne ministre des Sports Roxana Maracineanu . 2022-06-19 . BFMTV . fr . 2022-06-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220620054829/https://www.bfmtv.com/paris/resultats-legislatives-rachel-keke-s-impose-dans-le-val-de-marne-face-a-l-ancienne-ministre-des-sports-roxana-maracineanu_AN-202206190428.html . live .
  17. Web site: Cleaner, piano tuner: French parliament's fresh faces . 22 June 2022 . 2022-06-22.
  18. Web site: 2022-07-21 . " Qui a déjà touché 800 euros par mois ? Personne " : Rachel Keke interpelle la majorité sur les salaires . 2023-11-28 . lejdd.fr . fr.