Rachida Dati, France’s culture minister, will face trial for an accused of abuse of power and corruption while she was a member of the European Parliament (MEP), the AFP reported on Tuesday.
Dati, 59, who has publicly outlined her ambition to become mayor of Paris in 2026, was charged in 2019 on suspicions she lobbied for the car-making group, Renault-Nissan, while an MEP, which is the only directly elected body of the European Union. Dati has denied the allegations.
She is accused of taking 900,000 euros ($1 million) in lawyer’s fees between 2010 and 2012 from a Holland-based subsidiary of Renault-Nissan, while not actually working for it. This is alleged to have happened during her 10 years as an MEP from 2009 to 2019.
French investigating magistrates are looking into whether she was lobbying for the car giant in the European Parliament, which is a banned activity. French authorities have also reportedly ordered Carlos Ghosn, Renalt-Nissan’s 71-year-old former boss, to be tried. He escaped to Lebanon from Japan to avoid arrest in 2019 by hiding in a large box and being smuggled onto a private jet. Ghosn was subsequently dismissed by Nissan’s board in a unanimous decision. Both Japan and France have sought his arrest, and Like Dati, he denies all charges against him.
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A hearing on September 29 will reportedly set on the date of the trial.
The Art Newspaper reported that according to a source following the case, the trial could be held in the wake of the Paris municipal elections, which are slated for March 2026. The elections will decide the French capital’s next mayor.