Who Is Rachel Keke? French MP Sparks Outrage By Waving Palestinian Flag

On June 6, 2024, Rachel Keke, a radical left member of the La France Insoumise political party, sparked outrage during a governmental question in the Assemblée Nationale by provocatively brandishing a Palestinian flag. For the second time in a week, Assemblée Nationale President Yaël Braun-Pivet suspended the session in response to the act of rebellion.

French MP Rachel Keke Waves Palestinian Flag

At the outset of the session, Keke stood with her colleagues from the Green, Communist, and LFI parties, who had strategically dressed in green, white, red, and black to resemble the Palestinian flag. Braun-Pivet quickly asked for Keke to be sanctioned, pointing out that parliamentary rules require members to express themselves exclusively through speech.

"No, no, no, no, no," stated Assemblée Nationale President Yaël Braun-Pivet. "I thought things were very clear and that you had, like everyone else, been able to read our rules," she added, requesting that Keke be sanctioned and temporarily pausing the session. Earlier, the speaker reminded the left-wing MPs that parliamentarians were expected to express themselves "exclusively in oral form."

Last week, another LFI parliament member, Sebastien Delogu, displayed the flag during the same session, which ended in his suspension for two weeks and a two-month cut in his parliamentary allowance.

Who Is Rachel Keke?

Rachel Keke, 48, was elected as a French deputy (MP) in June 2022 by the New Ecological and Social People's Union. She sees herself as the "voice of the voiceless.". As a woman of Ivorian heritage without a degree, Keke's path into politics has been anything but smooth. 

Her story began in Abobo, Côte d'Ivoire. Following her mother's death, she was forced to leave school at the age of 12 to care for her five siblings. Although her father wanted her to pursue her education, Keke immediately realised that she would have to choose between cooking and attending school; hence, she chose to give up her education to care for her brothers and sisters.

Keke arrived in France at the age of 26 after the 1999 Ivorian coup d'état. After working as a hairdresser, cashier, and nursing assistant, she became a housekeeper at the Ibis Batignolles Hotel in Paris in 2003. From 2019 to 2021, Keke and her fellow chambermaids went on strike to protest their horrific working conditions and low salaries. She earned the backing of many supporters of the political party La France Insoumise (LFI), who later encouraged her to compete in the 2022 parliamentary election. Keke was elected with almost 37% of the vote in June 2022 to represent the Val-de-Marne department in the Paris region.