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Hotel cleaner defeats ex-Minister in parliament vote
Newly elected politician Rachel Keke is reportedly the first cleaner to become a member of parliament in France.
Ms Keke previously was known for leading one of the longest hotel strikes in French history, successfully campaigning for fairer pay and better working conditions. Some of her supporters have dubbed her win a “victory of the voiceless.”
Rachel Keke, a 48-year-old former cleaning lady who campaigned for better working conditions at her hotel, was elected to the French parliament on Sunday.
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Rachel Keke, a 48-year-old former cleaning lady at a Paris hotel beat Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu from President Emmanuel Macron’s Ensemble alliance to win the second round of the legislative elections in France.
Keke stepped into politics as a candidate for the newly formed left party coalition NUPES after successfully heading a nearly two-year strike against Accor group’s Ibis Batignolles hotel in Paris demanding higher wages for the service staff.
“The National Assembly will tremble,” Keke exclaimed on Twitter following the announcement of the result.
A native of Cote d’Ivoire, Keke became a naturalized French citizen in 2015. She will represent the constituency of Val-de-Marne located in the Ile-de-France region at the National Assembly.
“I am a maid, I am a cleaner, security guard, care assistant, helper, I am all these invisible jobs”, she said.
Rachel Keke just won against the previous sports minister at the French parliamentary election. She is the first cleaner to become a member of parliament in France.
The hotel housekeeper who led (and won) a 22 months strike for better pay & work conditions, just beat the former minister of sports and became the first housekeeper in history to be elected to the French parliament.
