US Edition 
Rachida Dati 'had string of lovers in 2008’
Rachida Dati, the former French justice minister, had up to eight lovers in the year she fell pregnant with her daughter, a lawyer for the alleged father has reportedly claimed.
The fact that Dominique Desseigne was one of Miss Dati’s several lovers was one argument he will use to refuse to take a paternity test, Le Monde reported.
Miss Dati, 46, a minister in Nicolas Sarkozy’s government and now an MEP, filed a paternity case recently to oblige Mr Desseigne, the chief of the Lucien Barriere casino and hotel group, to acknowledge he is the father of Zohra, who is now three years old.
A court hearing is scheduled in Versailles for tomorrow. There has been intense speculation as to who Zohra’s father is. Mr Desseigne, 68, says he does not know who the father is, and refuses to co-operate with Miss Dati’s demand for a paternity test.
“I won’t give in on anything, because I have behaved correctly, and done nothing wrong,” he told friends, according to Le Monde, which noted that he repeatedly referred to Miss Dati as “la dame” (“the lady”).
Le Monde reported that Mr Desseigne’s lawyer “counted eight” lovers around the time she fell pregnant, including a television broadcaster, a minister, one of Mr Sarkozy’s brothers and a Qatari attorney-general.
Mr Desseigne’s friends say Miss Dati “sent him threatening letters on several occasions”, asking for money, and offered to stop legal proceedings in exchange for a negotiated settlement. Miss Dati’s lawyer is expected to demonstrate the affection Mr Desseigne has shown her, including paying for her rented apartment at one point, and presenting witness statements showing he often came to visit Zohra.
Mr Desseigne 's wife died in 2001 from injuries sustained in a plane crash six years earlier. “He categorically told Rachida Dati he didn’t want a child,” an unnamed friend said. “That is why they broke up.” Miss Dati’s lawyer declined to comment on the claim she had several lovers in 2008.