The trial of Rachida Dati opened on Wednesday afternoon before the Paris criminal court. The former justice and culture minister is facing charges of passive corruption, passive influence-peddling, and concealment of abuse of power and breach of trust.
At the heart of the case are the €900,000 she received between 2009 and 2013 from a Dutch subsidiary of Renault-Nissan, while she was serving as a Member of the European Parliament.
The opening day was marked in particular by the absence of Carlos Ghosn. The former head of Renault-Nissan, who has been in Lebanon since fleeing Japan in 2019, is also being prosecuted, notably for active corruption and influence-peddling.
Tried in absentia, he asked in a letter to the court for the hearing to be postponed, arguing that he had not been properly served. He said he was willing to take part in the proceedings via videoconference.
Over six half-days of hearings, up to 28 September, the court is to examine the relationship between Rachida Dati and Carlos Ghosn and, above all, the nature of the services said to correspond to the €900,000 paid by RNBV, the Dutch subsidiary of the Renault-Nissan alliance.
Fees at the heart of the proceedings
Rachida Dati maintains she worked as a lawyer for the group and denies any lobbying activity in the European Parliament. Her lawyers denounce what they call an “intellectual construct” by the prosecution and insist their client has “exclusively” carried out legal work.
The prosecution, by contrast, argues that the fee agreement signed in 2009 was used to conceal lobbying activities. Investigating magistrates noted the paucity of documents that could, in their view, establish the reality and scope of the legal services provided. They also consider that the remuneration was “totally disproportionate” to the work for which evidence has been found.
Investigators are looking in particular at several interventions by Rachida Dati in the European Parliament, including three questions submitted in 2012 and 2013 relating to the automotive sector. The prosecution believes her parliamentary activity may have been influenced by her professional ties with Renault.
Rachida Dati faces up to ten years in prison and a €450,000 fine, as well as a possible ban on holding public office. She remains presumed innocent until the court reaches its decision.
Carlos Ghosn, for his part, will therefore not be in the dock. The former executive, who disputes the allegations against him, remains in Lebanon. His absence adds a particular dimension to a trial that is expected to help the court determine whether the €900,000 paid to Rachida Dati did indeed correspond to legal services or whether it concealed lobbying activity, which was banned at the time for MEPs.