Rachel Kéké, a former Ivorian maid, was on Sunday elected to the French parliament. The new member of Parliament was a member of NUPES, a new left-wing coalition. The 48-year-old promised to give the silent a voice.
“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 succeeds Roxana Maracineanu, President Emmanuel Macron‘s former sports minister, in a seat representing a Paris southern suburb. Emilienne Tai-Seba, a friend of Rachel Kéké, couldn’t disguise her delight.
“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 part of a group of cleaning ladies who successfully sued their employer over salary and working conditions. She had no intention of becoming a member of Parliament.
“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.
After President Macron’s majority in parliament was lost in Sunday’s legislative elections, the left-wing coalition NUPES emerged as one of the most powerful political organisations.