Rachida Dati, a former French culture minister and current mayor of the 7th arrondissement in Paris, has gone on trial in Paris on charges related to alleged illegal lobbying linked to the Renault-Nissan automotive group. The 60-year-old politician is accused of accepting €900,000 in legal fees from a Netherlands-based subsidiary of Renault-Nissan during her tenure as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP).

Prosecutors contend that the payments were not for legal services but rather for lobbying activities, which are prohibited for MEPs. They argue that a legal services contract signed in 2009 between Dati and Carlos Ghosn, the former chairman of Renault-Nissan, served as a cover for this lobbying. Under this contract, Dati received an annual fee of €300,000. The legal proceedings will focus on determining whether the funds were indeed linked to illicit lobbying efforts or genuine legal work.

Dati’s defense team has denied all allegations of corruption, maintaining that she provided legitimate legal services and that the charges amount to unfounded claims. Her lawyers described the accusations as based on an “artificial intellectual construct” put forth by the prosecution.

Carlos Ghosn, 72, who is also being tried in absentia in relation to these proceedings, has faced separate allegations of financial misconduct in Japan. He was detained there in 2018 but escaped to Lebanon, avoiding trial. He has consistently denied wrongdoing in all cases against him.

If convicted, Dati could face up to 10 years in prison, a fine reaching €450,000, and a possible five-year ban from holding public office.

In addition to the Renault-Nissan case, Dati is under investigation for other financial irregularities. Prosecutors have accused her of accepting nearly €300,000 in undeclared payments from the energy company GDF Suez while serving as an MEP. Furthermore, there are ongoing inquiries into whether she failed to declare jewellery and watches valued at €420,000 upon assuming ministerial office. She has denied all charges related to these separate investigations.