Dati to defy Sarkozy with mayoral run

PARIS, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- French Justice Minister Rachida Dati says she intends to run for Paris mayor despite opposition from French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The Daily Telegraph said Friday while Sarkozy seemingly demoted Dati to a post with the Union for a Popular Movement in Paris, the former Sarkozy protegee has expressed an interest in running for city's mayoral post in 2014.

Current Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe is set to end his second term in office in 2014, opening the door for a new mayoral candidate.

Dati's political adviser, Emmanuelle Dauvergne, confirmed that the 43-year-old Dati was considering a run at the Paris mayor's office.

"She wants to get involved in Paris. She confided in me that the Paris mayorship in 2014 really interested her," Dauvergne said.

The Telegraph said UMP official Jean-Francois Lamour has dismissed such reports of a Dati mayoral campaign, saying such talk is "premature and not credible"