But for French media and the Paris intellectuals, Ms Dati stands for something more: a perfect example of ethnic integration. For not only is she a woman of humble origins who experienced a meteoric rise - a rare-enough event - but she is also France's first Arab Muslim to fill a top position.

Born in 1965 to a Moroccan father and an Algerian cleaning lady, Ms Dati was sent as a young girl to work behind a supermarket meat counter; it was the only thing she could do to feed her 11 brothers and sisters. Up to that point, it was a typical story of racial and social exclusion, similar to what many North African immigrants experience.

But almost everything that followed was extraordinary. Ms Dati worked by day and studied by night, determined to defy what she subsequently called just a 'bad initial chance in life'.

She obtained university degrees in both economics and law and, by 1997, gained admission to the prestigious National College of Magistrates. However, not content with being a judge, she made her move into politics in a characteristic fashion: by using her intuition and gall, rather than personal connections.

She wrote to Mr Nicolas Sarkozy, then a freshly-appointed interior minister, offering her services as an adviser on immigration matters. As she later recounted, she was attracted to Mr Sarkozy because, 'like me, he was never given anything; he fought for everything he has'. 'Something in him echoes in me,' she added.

Mr Sarkozy was intrigued enough to meet her. And the rest is history: She became one of his chief political advisers.

It turned out to be a brilliant political move. In 2005, the French suburbs - where many poor North African live - erupted in violence, and Mr Sarkozy, who was responsible for both police and immigration, faced the worst challenge of his career.

But instead of trying to negotiate with community leaders to ease ethnic tensions - as most of the French political elite urged him to do at that time - Mr Sarkozy referred to the rioters as just 'scum', and used the full might of the state against them.

After that, Mr Sarkozy was accused of being a racist, just trying to make capital out of the country's ethnic difficulties. But he had with him Ms Dati, the daughter of poor immigrants, who explained to anyone who cared to listen that race should bear no connection to law and order.

The French electorate was persuaded. Mr Sarkozy became President, and Ms Dati was duly rewarded. So, only a decade after she struggled to become a magistrate, she walked boldly up the steps of her ministry building, the political head of France's entire judicial system.

Opinions are divided on whether Ms Dati can ever serve as a role model for other young French Muslims.

For reasons of convenience, her parents sent her to a Catholic school. And, although Ms Dati never denied her Muslim faith, she does not dwell on it either: 'I am a French of French origin, since I was born in Bourgogne,' she once remarked ironically.

But she is very precise about what all ethnic groups should do: accept the traditional values of the French Republic - which promise equal opportunities for all - while being 'self-demanding, having faith in themselves and acting for themselves'.

It is a simple recipe which goes down well with the majority, but less so with some minority activists. One of France's Muslim Internet blogs called her 'North African on the outside, bigoted Caucasian on the inside'. Others simply dismiss her as unrepresentative.

But the Arab media outside France reacted far better. Newspapers in Morocco and Algeria expressed pride in her origins, while the Al Ahram, Egypt's top daily, hailed her as 'a woman of substance' who 'refuses to be counted as a token Arab and Muslim', and sees no contradiction between her faith and 'wearing mini-skirts and makeup'.

Like all politicians, Ms Dati is guaranteed to encounter many difficulties. She has seen several top aides quit, and will face bigger battles with the judiciary over plans to introduce tougher sentences for offenders. Her image has also been tarnished after her brother was hauled to court over a drug offence.

Nevertheless, she has already left her mark on France's public debate. 'Politics', she told the country's ethnic minorities, 'is about preventing fatalism', about refusing to accept that nothing better is ever on offer.

Few can argue with the attraction of such a concept.

Jonathan.eyal@gmail.com