By Dominique Vidalon
PARIS (Reuters) -French judges on Tuesday ordered that French Culture Minister Rachida Dati and former automobile executive Carlos Ghosn must stand trial for alleged corruption and abuse of power in a case focusing on consulting fees, a judicial source said.
The French prosecutor’s office for financial crimes (PNF) had requested in November 2024 that Dati, widely expected to run for the post of Paris mayor in March 2026, and former Renault-Nissan boss Ghosn be tried as part of its investigation into corruption.
Investigators had been probing the consulting fees Dati once received from the Renault-Nissan auto alliance, which hired her as a consultant after she stepped down as justice minister in 2009 to stand for the European Parliament.
Dati has denied irregularities in the fees she received during that time, and Ghosn, who fled from Japan in a box aboard a private jet to Lebanon, has denied allegations of misconduct against him.
Speaking to LCI television on Tuesday evening, Dati vowed to fight the judges’ decision: “I am not going to resign myself. I will fight. I will fight everywhere.”
Asked if she could stay in the government, she said: “Have I been condemned? Of course not. That’s it”
Asked if Dati should resign from the French government, Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin told TF1 television: “I cannot comment on legal proceedings, but it is clear that Rachida Dati — who is a great politician and someone I would very much like to see become mayor of Paris — is presumed innocent, and we should not be too quick to condemn people.”
Ghosn’s representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.
Ghosn, who holds French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenships, has not left Lebanon since 2019 because of an Interpol Red Notice issued by Japan.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Additional reporting by Gilles Guillaume, Elizabeth Pineau and Benjamin Mallet; Editing by Jan Harvey and Mark Porter)
