Courageous superwoman or bad mother and a disgrace to the feminist cause? The argument has been raging in France ever since Rachida Dati, the French Justice Minister, returned to work only five days after giving birth to a girl.

Ms Dati, 43, the glamour figure of President Sarkozy’s Government, left her clinic in the 16th arrondissement on Wednesday morning.

In freezing weather, the single mother showed Zohra, her baby, to admirers. An hour later she turned up looking trim in stiletto heels and a tight suit for the weekly Cabinet session. Mr Sarkozy opened by congratulating la jeune maman - the young mummy.

Cynics said that the image-conscious Ms Dati was pulling off one of her stunts. Her decision to forgo the standard three-month maternity leave was ridiculed by those who see her as a pushy, overpromoted favourite of the President.

Her admirers saw her return as typical of the pluck that took her from a childhood on the immigrant housing estates to one of the highest government posts.

Everyone understood that Ms Dati, who is deemed to be a disastrous minister, was desperate to keep her job and be there when Mr Sarkozy announced his radical plan to abolish the institution of investigating judges.

The argument is whether she has set a bad example for women and is neglecting her daughter.

In the media, blogs and internet forums, criticism is outweighing the approval.

“Dati is doing a disservice to the women’s cause,” Sophie de Menthon, a feminist businesswoman, told Metro newspaper. “She is driving herself to a point that women who have children know is superhuman. Instinctively and not rationally, I abhor this.”

Claude Askolovitch, the editor of the Journal du Dimanche, tore into Ms Dati in his daily breakfast commentary on Europe 1 radio. She was betraying the women who had fought for their rights by giving the impression that maternity leave was a luxury option, he said. It had been a mistake to see Ms Dati as an icon of ethnic diversity because her case was unique. “She is a solitary character, and even in happiness, she often inspires a little sadness.”

Catherine Nay, a veteran journalist who wrote the authoritative biography on Mr Sarkozy, said that Ms Dati was making a mistake because she was stirring up yet another row over her behaviour. “There is in her action an excessive determination to stay in power. It is not clear that being modern means being rushed and reckless,” she said.

Luc Chatel, the minister who acts as Government spokesman, defended Ms Dati. “Rachida has always said that to be a mother was the greatest of happinesses, but at the same time that she had important duties that she would continue to fulfil,” he said.

Though everyone in France claims to be bored with the Dati soap opera, the internet is abuzz with her name and she repeatedly scores as a profitable cover story for magazines.

On the matter of the father, the internet has published pictures of François Sarkozy, the President’s younger brother. He visited Ms Dati in the maternity clinic over the weekend. Yesterday Paris Match magazine confirmed that Ms Dati had spent Christmas eve at the home of Andrée Sarkozy, the President’s mother. It also published a picture of Madame Sarkozy visiting Ms Dati’s clinic.

The names of other possible fathers are still circulating. José-Maria Aznar, the former Spanish Prime Minister, is first among them despite his denials. There is also a suggestion that Ms Dati, who wanted a child in her 43rd year, chose an anonymous donor.

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