Rachida Dati - set to music

It's often said that politics and sport shouldn't be mixed, but when it comes to politics and music it would seem - at least here in France - it's another matter altogether.

Proof if it were needed is the latest buzz surrounding a video posted on the Net just over a week ago; a love song dedicated to none other than the country's justice minister, Rachida Dati.

It comes courtesy of the French rapper, Dirty Dahn, and his sidekick Richie Rich, and the pair have come up with what is to all intents and purposes a (French) remake of another video posted on YouTube back in 2007 in which a young woman rather seductively lip-synched her way through "I Got A Crush...On Obama".

This time around though it's "Amoureux de Rachida" and while Dati might not be in the same league, politically-speaking, as the US president, since first appearing on the Net the clip has already received more than 130,000 hits.

The timing couldn't be better. With the European parliamentary elections due on June 7, Dati will give up her current day job if as expected she's elected.

Amoureux de Rachida
Uploaded by dirty-dahn. - Explore more music videos.

Dati, you might remember, was on paper at least, a pretty smart choice when she was appointed justice minister back in June 2007.

She was the first person, let alone woman, of North African origin to hold a top government post and she was seen as a symbol of just about everything the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy could wish for as he set about the task of "remodelling" the political landscape of the country.

But she has had a pretty tough time of it over the past two years. Even though there has been general political support from all quarters for the need for reform of the antiquated French justice system, Dati has been lambasted for total incompetence by many within the profession and her office has haemorrhaged staff.

She has been criticised for her high-fashion profile, regular appearances on the front pages of weekly glossy magazines, and being a spendthrift.

Once a close aide and confidante of the French president (and his former wife, Cécilia) Dati gradually fell out of favour, and the last straw seemed to be her highly-publicised pregnancy; she isn't married and has refused to name the father of her daughter, born in January.

Dati's now standing for election to the European parliament as number two on the list for Ile de France (the region of Paris and its surrounding area) for the governing centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire Union for a Popular Movement, UMP) party.

It wasn't exactly a "choice" with which she appeared thrilled, leaving the domestic political arena for the European one, and was widely perceived as a decision Sarkozy forced upon her.

And Dati's lack of enthusiasm appears to have been reflected in the run-up to the election, during which she has been less than convincing on the campaign stump.

Since putting in a much-criticised appearance at a question-and-answer session at a meeting of young members of the UMP back in May when she seemed to many to have only an iffy grasp of European issues, Dati has taken a relatively low profile in the campaign.

But that hasn't deterred Dahn.

Although there has been no official response to the latest musical "tribute" from Dati herself, it's perhaps somehow fitting that a woman who has seemingly thrived on publicity during her two-year tenure as justice minister, should leave office with the words of true "appreciation" ringing in her ears with Dahn hoping maybe for a speedy return with, "J'espère que l'on va se voir bientôt."

Ah where would we all be without the Internet?