The trial of Rachida Dati, a former French minister of justice and culture, opened on Wednesday afternoon at the Paris criminal court. Dati is facing formal charges of passive corruption, passive influence-peddling, and the concealment of both breach of trust and abuse of power.
The legal proceedings center on €900,000 that Dati received between 2009 and 2013 from RNBV, a Dutch subsidiary of the Renault-Nissan alliance. At the time these payments were made, Dati was serving as a Member of the European Parliament. The court is scheduled to hear the case over six half-days, with proceedings expected to conclude by 28 September. During this time, the court will examine the professional relationship between Dati and former Renault-Nissan head Carlos Ghosn, specifically investigating whether the payments were for legitimate legal services or if they were used to conceal lobbying activity, which was prohibited for MEPs at the time.
The opening day of the trial was notable for the absence of Carlos Ghosn, who is also being prosecuted in the case for active corruption and influence-peddling. Ghosn, who has lived in Lebanon since fleeing Japan in 2019, is being tried in absentia. In a letter addressed to the court, the former executive requested that the hearing be postponed, arguing that he had not been properly served. He indicated a willingness to participate in the trial via videoconference.
Dati maintains that she worked as a lawyer for the group and denies engaging in any lobbying activity while in the European Parliament. Her legal team has characterized the prosecution's case as an "intellectual construct," insisting that their client performed "exclusively" legal work. Conversely, the prosecution argues that the 2009 fee agreement was a cover for lobbying. Investigating magistrates have pointed to a lack of documentation that could establish the reality and scope of the legal services provided, further describing the remuneration as "totally disproportionate" to the work for which evidence has been found.
Investigators are specifically focusing on several of Dati's interventions in the European Parliament, including three questions submitted in 2012 and 2013 regarding the automotive sector. The prosecution suggests her parliamentary activity may have been influenced by her professional ties to Renault. If convicted, Dati faces up to ten years in prison, a €450,000 fine, and a potential ban from holding public office. She remains presumed innocent until the court reaches its final decision.
