The Franco-Moroccan woman is seeking the vote of the French people living in the Maghreb and West Africa in the June 2022 legislative elections with the intention of bringing about change.
Rachida Kaaout looks good in the hall of a famous hotel in Dakar. Senegal is the third of sixteen stages of the campaign conducted since last January by the candidate of ‘La Republique en Marche’ (LREM) , simple at first glance. A white T-shirt, black pants and that’s it.
Rachida Kaaout, 40 years, describes herself as “a woman who’s got character. When she sets a goal, she knows how to put in place all the conditions to achieve it.”
These days, her goal is to carry the voice of the French in the 9th District covering the Maghreb and West Africa.
Two areas of the black continent perfectly mastered by the graduate in Economics and Management from the Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne University: “Having worked extensively in these countries, I know the French people who live there. In the context of business or on a personal basis, I have met many of them.”
Who are these French people that Rachida Kaaout wants to represent so much? “There are those who have left their country for professional reasons and retirees who have settled in these countries, as misery is more beautiful in the sun. The last bunch is composed of those who have dual-nationality who have returned to their countries of origin,” she says.
At the head of a company whose vocation is to support other companies in their international development, the mother of two teenagers makes it a point of honor to give hope to her compatriots disillusioned by the classic politicians. “I just toured Tunisia, Morocco and Senegal. People I met told me that politicians are all the same,” she says, presenting herself as a credible “alternative.”
But Rachida Kaaout, an admirer of Jacques Chirac, French Head of State from 1995 to 2007, admits that “it is a long-term job because it is necessary to be present in the constituency. The field allows us to understand the real problems, in order to build the future together.”
With this in mind, Rachida Kaaout has taken the pulse of these French people far from the metropolis, in order to understand their expectations. Her diagnosis highlights three main concerns: education, health and business.
“In relation to the Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE), there is a problem related to school fees and the quality of education of children often leaves something to be desired. In some cases, the United States and Belgium are replacing France,” explains the candidate of the movement created by President Emmanuel Macron. A native of Beni-Mellal, in the heart of Morocco, Rachida Kaaout intends to write, with parents’ associations, “a white paper that will contain proposals to be handed over personally” to the present French president.
As far as health is concerned, this medium-sized woman noted dysfunctions in the organization of the ‘Caisse des Français de l’Etranger’ (Fund for French leaving Abroad, CFE). “As the administration is not in these territories, it is always a bit complicated. Some retirees are in very bad situations. Everything is dematerialized while there are elderly people who do not know how to use the Internet or who live in remote areas. They are not going to travel long distances to just send an email or even receive an answer at the embassy or consulate,” she laments.
According to Rachida Kaaout, it is therefore necessary to establish partnerships with multinational insurance companies in order to create a mutual health insurance for French people abroad “who are not necessarily well off financially.” As an illustration, says the Parisian, “I spoke with a Frenchman living a drama in Tunisia. Sick, he wants to be treated in France, but cannot afford to buy a plane ticket. However, an alliance with Air France would allow these vulnerable citizens, once a year, to return home free of charge,” she explains.
The third problem that mobilizes Rachida Kaaout is related to business in host countries. “The 9th District is composed of highly strategic countries in terms of development. The French nationals who live there are ambassadors. We must work with all these people to develop bilateral relations that are more friendly, more fraternal and beneficial to all,” she pleads.
In a context where anti-French sentiment is gaining ground in sub-Saharan Africa, “our responsibility is to restore confidence in these peoples so that they know we are friends,” says the former Director of Development – Purchasing for the Bernard Tapie Group between 2003 and 2009.
From the civil society to politics
The beginning of Rachida Kaaout’s political adventure is recent. Raised by her grandmother, the businesswoman first set up an association called “Au fil de l’aube” (Over the course of Dawn). The goal was to create an intergenerational link between seniors and young people. “I asked myself: how can we make things happen? Our elders have so much knowledge, experience… to pass on and future adults need to be armed for a better future. There are no small efforts. There are only great results”, the initiator of this humanistic concept explains.
“I started around me by reaching out to the retirees I knew. I asked them to give a little of their time to mentor the young people I met on the ground or with my friends,” she recalls.
The momentum created by “Au fil de l’aube” was so strong that the need for a spacious room to hold the activities was quickly felt. An appeal for donations launched on social networks changed the destiny of the woman who dreams big. Rachida Kaaout caught the eye of the staff of La Republique en Marche: “They contacted me to propose an appointment. On the day of the meeting, they appreciated my high social impact and then said something that immediately resonated. In concrete terms, they made me understand that I can be more useful to society if I get involved in politics.”
This invitation did not go unheeded. “The LREM defines me. I am neither of the right nor the left. I am rather in the center with the conviction that citizens can change the way of doing politics,” professes Rachida Kaaout. On June 17, 2019, the neophyte is among the first candidates invested by the macronists for the municipal elections. A year later, she was elected municipal councilor in Ivry-sur-Seine, a city in the district of Val-de-Marne, (Ile-de-France region).
Emmanuel Macron, Rachida Kaaout’s leader, is running for his own re-election on April 10. One of his challengers, Eric Zemmour, is a sounding board for the theory of the “great replacement” popularized from 2011 by the far-right writer Renaud Camus. “His political offer has as a backbone only the hatred of the other. Unfortunately, there are people who follow him. They are protesters. I don’t think they are convinced by extremist ideas. There is nothing sincere about Zemmour. He surfs on fears by pointing the finger at a community, a religion,” Rachida Kaaout says bluntly.
To block this identity-based withdrawal, the bi-national, for whom “the issue of integration has never arisen,” suggests that governments work more towards social mixing. “We haven’t tried hard enough to break down barriers. In France’s neighborhoods, we need to break down everything that was built in the 1970s to accommodate working-class people. I would like to see a change in the city model. This would give people the opportunity to get to know each other. There are people who are thought to be racist, but they are not really. When they take the time to go to the unknown, they realize that others are not that different from them. Our children should not be trapped in racial or religious divides…”
ID/fss/abj/APA