STEVE INSKEEP, Host:
The justice minister in France returned to work only five days after she gave birth. And that has sparked a national debate. Her brief maternity leave has set off howls of outrage from French feminists, who say it's a bad example. Eleanor Beardsley sends this report.
ELEANOR BEARDSLEY: Justice Minister Rachida Dati turned up for her first cabinet meeting last week, surrounded by television reporters and photographers. And as if showing up for work just hours after leaving the maternity clinic wasn't enough, Dati came decked out in a sleek, velvet outfit and stiletto heels.
U: (Speaking French)
BEARDSLEY: What incredible shape she's in. Her black suit fits perfectly, exclaimed one radio reporter. And look at those heels. Just five days after a cesarean, raved another. The coverage started a debate that has raged in France. Florence Montreynaud is a writer and feminist.
M: This example separates women into two categories:a few superwomen with a wonderful job, and millions of other women that are totally normal to feel a little tired after birth. These women are - what to say - sissy? Or weakling?
BEARDSLEY: Dati's story has always fascinated the French press. One of 12 children of Algerian-Moroccan parents who grew up in a gritty, French suburban housing project, Dati is a rare immigrant success story and the very symbol of women's emancipation. She's in charge of reforming the French legal system, which has seen her take on powerful French magistrates. The Cinderella of the Suburbs has become the star of President Nicolas Sarkozy's cabinet.
M: (Speaking French)
BEARDSLEY: But Laurence Pieau, editor of French magazine Closer, says nothing spoke louder as a symbol of the modern woman than the photos of the petite, glamorous and radiant Dati striding out of the maternity clinic and back to the office.
M: I think these images will stay on the memoir collective, on the memory of all the French women, because it's a very strong image. And I think this images give hope to women in their 40s, women who want children, because it shows that you can be pregnant and keep the important responsibilities in your job.
BEARDSLEY: Martine Dupont, who's eight months pregnant, leaves a Paris maternity clinic after a check-up. Unlike Dati, Dupont says she'll use every bit of her maternity leave.
M: (Through translator) I'll probably even take a couple of months of parental leave after that. Dati doesn't project the best image of a mother, but I don't think it'll affect the rest of us mothers.
BEARDSLEY: Some of those who call the fury against Dati unfair blame her boss, President Sarkozy. They say it's his fault that Dati felt pressured to return to work so soon after the birth of her daughter. For NPR News, I'm Eleanor Beardsley in Paris.