Last Sunday, millions of French people cast their votes in the first round of the 2022 French National Assembly election, which resulted in a number of surprises, including ones deemed "historic".
One of the most surprising outcomes of the 2022 elections is the win of the former chambermaid Rachel Kéké, who has topped the former French Minister of Sports Roxana Mărăcineanu in the same constituency in Val-de-Marne near Paris.
Round two sets up politically clarifying clashes like this: Rachel Keke, an underpaid hotel chambermaid who led a 22 month strike, versus an ex-Macron minister who demands a ‘republican front’ to stop Keke, though Macron’s party won’t call for such a pact against the far right… https://t.co/bpbOzJreyX
— David Broder (@broderly) June 13, 2022
Rachel Kéké, 48, was known to the public in July 2019, when she and 27 other workers at Ibis Hotel Paris started the longest strike in French history, demanding better pay and working conditions.
Kéké and her colleagues' battle with the hotel lasted for 22 months, resulting in their victory in May 2021 as they were granted extra pay between $270- $540 a month.
Born in the Ivory Coast to a bus driver and a saleswoman, Kéké started her career at the age of 16 as a hairdresser and a cashier.
She immigrated to France at the age of 26 after her country suffered its first military coup since independence in 1999. Kéké's career as a housekeeper at Ibis Hotel extended between 2003 and 2021.
“Without rooms, there would be no tourists in France. Without rooms, there would be no hotel industry. Cleaning rooms is a great profession, it is with pride that I call myself a cleaning lady” - Rachel Kéké when asked if she dislikes the label of “the first cleaning lady MP” ? https://t.co/kxCqXSmr3B
— Eoghan Ó Finn (@FinnEoghan) June 13, 2022
Following her strike against Ibis Hotel, Kéké's political career started as she joined Jean-Luc Melenchon's leftist political party, La France insoumise (French: rebellious France), and announced her bid for the French parliament in 2022.
Kéké's win was perceived as a major surprise, especially since she received more votes (37.2%) than the former sports Minister Roxana Mărăcineanu (24.24%), who usually scores easy wins in the constituency.
