France, Feb. 27 -- Dati, 60, resigned late on Wednesday to focus on her bid to become mayor of Paris. She is running as the mainstream conservative candidate in municipal elections scheduled for March, and wasted no time making headlines as she launched her campaign.

Rachida Dati resigns as France's culture minister to focus on Paris mayor campaign

Within hours of stepping down from government, Dati accused her Socialist rival Emmanuel Gregoire of "social racism", igniting a fierce political exchange.

The dispute followed a social media post by Gregoire warning that Paris was "threatened" by an "extreme right" alliance and that a "brown wave" could sweep through the capital. Dati - whose father was Moroccan and mother Algerian - reacte...