<p>Chances are, you’ve never heard of her. But the resignation of France’s much-maligned justice minister, Christiane Taubira, spells the exit from François Hollande’s cabinet of a rare voice of compassion for those on society’s margins. </p><br />In a country with a soft spot for lofty titles, the official name of France’s Justice Minister – the “Garde des Sceaux”, or “Keeper of the Seals” – is in keeping with the solemnity of the function.<br />The holder of the title has historically been tasked with affixing the seal of France – the imprimatur of the country’s highest legal authority – on constitutional amendments and important laws.<br />Before her resignation on Wednesday, Justice Minister Christine Taubira fought passionately to stamp that “Republican” seal of approval on laws that granted greater rights and stronger protections to society’s excluded, from gay couples to prisoners.<br />It’s a mission that came naturally to Taubira.<br />She was the sixth of eight children born into a family in French Guiana, a racially divided overseas French department.<br />This heritage imbued her with a strong sense of justice for society’s down-and-outs.<br />Racial slurs<br />It also made her an outlier on France’s political landscape – and a target of racial slurs from the far right.<br />In a notorious incident, a politician from the National Front was sentenced to nine months in prison after comparing Taubira to an ape. (Taubira is black.)<br />The same politician said in a TV appearance that she would prefer to see Taubira “in a tree swinging from the branches rather than in government".<br />That was obviously ... Go on reading on our web site.<br />Visit our website:<br />http://www.france24.com<br /><br />Like us on Facebook:<br />https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English<br /><br />Follow us on Twitter:<br />https://twitter.com/France24_en
