France’s culture minister to be tried on corruption charges

France’s culture minister Rachida Dati is to go on trial accused of alleged corruption and abuse of power while she was a member of European Parliament, a judicial source said Tuesday. A hearing in September will decide on the date which could be held in March next year.

Rachida Dati, 59, was charged in 2019 on suspicions she lobbied for the Renault-Nissan carmaking group while at the European Union institution.

Dati, who holds ambitions to become Paris mayor next year, is accused of accepting 900,000 euros in lawyer’s fees between 2010 and 2012 from a Netherlands-based subsidiary of Renault-Nissan, but not really working for them, while she was an member of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2019.

Investigations have sought to determine whether she was in fact lobbying in the European Parliament for the carmaker, an activity that is forbidden.

Dati denies the allegations, and lashed out at some of the investigating magistrates on her case, accusing them of “trampling” on her rights.

“I condemn magistrates who refuse to do their job according to the code of procedure,” she told news channel LCI on Tuesday, denouncing what she called a case “marred by incidents”.

“I will not give up, on anything,” added Dati, who is mayor of the French capital’s seventh district, home to most French ministries, the country’s parliament and many foreign embassies.

Her lawyers said they would appeal the decision to place her on trial.

French investigating magistrates also ordered that Carlos Ghosn, the ex-tycoon of Renault-Nissan, be tried, the judicial source said.

The 71-year-old, who has been living in Lebanon for years after escaping arrest in Japan, has also rejected the charges against him.

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.

He jumped bail late the following year and made a dramatic escape from Japan hidden in an audio-equipment box, landing in Beirut, where he remains as an international fugitive. Both Japan and France have sought his arrest.

A hearing on 29 September will decide on the date of the trial, the source said.

According to another source following the case, the trial could be held after the Paris municipal elections, which will be held in March next year.

Source: (France 24 with AFP)