PARIS: France's new Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, aged 37, is a rising star of the right-wing of French politics but his promotion has outraged feminists because of a years-old rape claim that remains under investigation. The son of a bar owner and a mother who worked as a cleaner at France's central bank, Darmanin takes on one of the most exposed portfolios in French politics-one that has ruined careers but also propelled his mentor Nicolas Sarkozy to the presidency.

Darmanin's relatively young age, ambition and loyalty to President Emmanuel Macron make him a shining example of the so-called Macronie elite serving the head of state since he came to power in 2017. But his rapid rise has come despite a complaint filed in 2017 from a woman, Sophie Patterson-Spatz, who alleged he raped her in 2009 after she sought his help to have a criminal record expunged.

Darmanin was at the time an official with the legal affairs unit of the right-wing Republicans party's predecessor, the UMP, to which he used to belong before joining Macron's Republic on the Move (LREM). He admits there was a sexual relationship with Patterson-Spatz but insists it was consensual. The charges were dismissed by prosecutors in 2018 due to a lack of evidence of coercion. But earlier this year, appeals judges in Paris ordered the reopening of the investigation into the allegations, saying the preliminary investigation was not sufficient grounds to drop the case.

'Slap in the face'
As Darmanin was taking office Tuesday, some 20 feminists protested nearby, shouting "Darmanin resign!" and "Darmanin rapist". "It's a mighty slap in the face Emmanuel Macron has delivered to all those who mobilized against sexual violence," added Socialist senator Laurence Rossignol, a former women's rights minister. "You are accused of rape and you get to be the number one cop in France," seethed the Osez le Feminisme (Dare Feminism) collective, which has launched a petition for Darmanin's resignation.

Lawyers for Patterson-Spatz said in a statement that that were "amazed if not dismayed by his appointment". An Elysee source said the rape complaint made against Darmanin "did not pose an obstacle" to his nomination and the case appeared to be "going in the right direction" for him. And new government spokesman Gabriel Attal argued Darmanin had to benefit from the presumption of innocence.

"There are investigations-and this is normal-but we cannot go further than that by assuming that just because there are investigations, there have been be crimes," he said after the first meeting of the cabinet under new Prime Minister Jean Castex after Monday's reshuffle. Prosecutors have dismissed allegations by a second woman who had accused Darmanin of using his position to seek sexual favors while mayor of the northern city of Tourcoing between 2014 and 2017 -- a claim he also denies.

'Treason in the genes'
He takes over at the ministry from Christophe Castaner, whose sometimes troubled two-year stint was marked by allegations of racism in the police force and complaints from officers he did not defend them. Politically, Darmanin is seen as standing to the right of Castaner, who came to Macron's government from the Socialist Party. Darmanin cut his political teeth in Sarkozy's 2007-2012 administration, joined parliament in 2012 and was elected mayor of Tourcoing in 2012. Darmanin has served until now as budget minister under Macron, bringing France's unwieldy tax system under tighter control despite little previous experience of fiscal affairs.

He boasted earlier this month that French tax revenue inspectors helped the state recover almost 12 billion euros ($13.5 billion) in 2019, a "record" year. Darmanin's articulate and smooth manner have marked him out as a strong media performer, a gift not universally shared among the young politicians Macron promoted in 2017. His promotion, however, failed to impress the head of his former Republicans party, Christian Jacob, who witheringly warned Macron to "distrust Darmanin" who he said had "treason in the genes". Taking office on Tuesday, Darmanin launched a staunch defense of France's secular system, vowing to "fight against all forces of political Islam". - AFP