Rachida Dati goes on trial in Paris in Carlos Ghosn graft case

France's former culture minister Rachida Dati has gone on trial at a Paris court in a corruption case linked to lobbying for Renault-Nissan. The proceedings centre on a contract signed in October 2009 between Dati and Carlos Ghosn, then head of the carmaker alliance. Dati denies the allegations and is being tried alongside Ghosn, who will appear in absentia.

Sponsored

The case concerns claims that Dati lobbied for Renault-Nissan while she was a member of the European Parliament between October 2009 and February 2013. Prosecutors say a legal services contract signed in 2009 was used to conceal lobbying work. According to the case file, Dati was paid an annual fee of 300,000 euros under that arrangement, and investigators later obtained the contract during a search of Renault's headquarters in 2019.

Dati, 60, is one of the most prominent figures on the French right and remains mayor of Paris's wealthy 7th district. She was placed under investigation in 2019 and charged in 2021 with corruption and influence peddling over her dealings with Ghosn. If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to 450,000 euros and a possible five-year ban on holding public office.

The trial comes only months after Dati's defeat in the Paris mayoral race, which followed her resignation as culture minister in February to focus on the campaign. Her political standing has long been shaped by controversy, and the case now places a senior national figure before the courts at a time when questions about lobbying, public office and corporate influence remain sensitive in France. Ghosn, meanwhile, remains a fugitive and is being tried without being present.

Sponsored

The allegations date back more than a decade, to the period when Dati moved from government to the European Parliament after serving as justice minister from 2007 to 2009 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. Prosecutors argue that the contract with Ghosn masked work that should have been treated as lobbying, while her lawyers say she worked exclusively as a lawyer for the Netherlands-based Renault-Nissan subsidiary. The dispute therefore turns on how the payments and services should be interpreted under French law.

What remains unclear at this stage is how long the trial will last and when the court will deliver its verdict. The outcome could have major consequences for Dati's political future, including her ability to hold office, and it will also further test scrutiny of corporate lobbying arrangements linked to senior public figures. For now, the court is hearing a case that combines allegations of influence peddling, a former cabinet minister and one of the most closely watched business figures of the past decade.

#RachidaDati #CarlosGhosn #Pariscourt #RenaultNissan #corruptiontrial