She was born to unmarried parents in Kosciusko, Mississippi, in a house without indoor plumbing.

ECONOMIST: Dumbing up

If her campaign is successful, Kosciusko-Morizet plans to launch an online forum allowing Parisians to voice their own ideas for renovating these forgotten stations.

BBC: Travel - The proposed metro makeover every Parisian is talking about

Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, member of the centre-right Union pour un mouvement populaire party, is one of six candidates running for mayor of the French capital in March 2014.

BBC: Travel - The proposed metro makeover every Parisian is talking about

Environment Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet countered, arguing that other renewable energy sources would not be adequate to compensate for the loss of any nuclear power in France.

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They include such figures as Pierre Kosciusko-Morizet of Priceminister, Marc Simoncini of Meetic, and Xavier Niel of Iliad, who launched Free, a telecoms firm, from nothing to take on the established giants.

ECONOMIST: France

Growing up in Kosciusko, Miss.

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