French financial prosecutors announced Monday that Rachida Dati, the culture minister and leading centre-right candidate for Paris mayor, is set to face trial in September 2026 over suspected corruption.
Dati, is accused of accepting €900,000 in lawyer's fees between 2010 and 2012 from a Netherlands-based subsidiary of Renault-Nissan, without actually working for them, while she was an MEP from 2009 to 2019.
The judges who investigated the case believe that Dati's activity in the European Parliament "amounted to lobbying", which "appears incompatible both with her mandate and with her profession as a lawyer".
Ghosn, the former chairman and chief executive of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, was arrested in Japan in November 2018 on suspicion of financial misconduct, before being sacked by Nissan's board.
The 71-year-old, who holds Lebanese, French, and Brazilian nationality, has been living in Lebanon since late 2019 after a dramatic escape from Japan.
He is due to be tried for abuse of power by a company director, breach of trust, corruption, and active influence peddling.
Ghosn's presence at the trial appears highly hypothetical since he has been the subject of an arrest warrant since April 2023.
Both Dati and Ghosn have contested the charges.
Requests for annulment
After the announcement of her referral to the criminal court at the end of July, Dati had insisted on the reality of her work as a lawyer and denied any lobbying in the European Parliament.
"As president of the largest automotive industrial group in the world, president of European manufacturers, do you think Carlos Ghosn needed me?" she asked.
Dati's three lawyers, Frank Berton, Olivier Bluche and Basile Ader, have warned that they intend to file applications for annulment as soon as the proceedings begin.
Resurgent conservative Rachida Dati unveils ambitions to run for Paris mayor
The criminal trial – from 16 to 28 September – will take place six months after the municipal elections on 15 and 22 March, 2026.
A high-profile political figure and mayor of the French capital's chic 7th district, Dati holds ambitions to become the mayor of Paris.
She is scheduled to run as a candidate for the right-wing Les Républicains (LR) party.
Dati was a key figure in former president Nicolas Sarkozy's conservative government, serving as justice minister from 2007 to 2009.
She has served as Culture Minister under President Emmanuel Macron since January 2024 and is yet to find out if she will be part of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu's new government lineup.
Dati is also the subject of a judicial investigation into the possible failure to declare luxury jewellery to the French High Authority for Transparency in Public Life (HATVP). She denies any irregularity.
(with newswires)
