Rachida Dati clashes with Renault lawyers over 300,000 euro annual fee as Paris trial interrogation ends

Scrutiny over international legal missions

Former French justice and culture minister Rachida Dati faced sharp questioning on Thursday, 24 September, as the Paris correctional court examined her past consulting work for automaker Renault-Nissan. Renault SAS lawyer Philippe Goossens challenged Dati to demonstrate the tangible reality of her legal services under a fee agreement with the Renault-Nissan BV alliance. Goossens pointed to a lack of written evidence documenting her legal output, prompting Dati to reject characterizations that minimized her professional contributions. He focused on her foreign missions, including advisory work in Turkey during French parliamentary debates on a bill penalizing Armenian genocide denial. Dati stated that former company chief Carlos Ghosn, who is being tried in absentia, feared automotive manufacturing sanctions in Turkey, prompting her to explain Renault's independence from the French state. Goossens asked how a consultant could explain that Renault was separate from the French government, to which Dati replied that she emphasized the corporate alliance with Nissan. When questioned about her knowledge of South Korean law, Dati explained that she had been briefed by the French ambassador.

“I am not Tinker Bell, it was teamwork!”

Escalating courtroom confrontations

The interrogation grew increasingly combative during the morning session as Renault's second lawyer, Kami Haeri, pressed Dati on United Nations sanctions against Iran. Haeri questioned whether her advisory work carried legal risks or implications for foreign hostages held in Tehran. Dati rejected the line of inquiry, accusing the lawyer of adopting a patronizing tone and turning the cross-examination into a personal dispute. She pushed back against suggestions that her consulting amounted merely to informal conversations over tea, asserting her professional competence as a qualified jurist. Dati also claimed that Haeri had posted sexist remarks about her on social media between 2010 and 2013, offering to submit them to the bench. Presiding judge Claire Saas intervened to request calm, declined the social media filings, and ordered a 20-minute court recess after verbal confrontations persisted. Saas reminded the court that the proceedings had to remain strictly focused on the legal indictment rather than personal grievances.

Financial terms and corruption allegations

The financial investigation led by France's Parquet National Financier centres on allegations of passive corruption and passive influence peddling between October 2009 and February 2013. Prosecutors allege that Dati entered into an illicit agreement to conduct lobbying activities inside the European Parliament while serving as an elected member of the assembly. Under the contractual terms with Renault-Nissan, Dati received legal fees totaling 300,000 euros per year. The Thursday hearing followed an intense cross-examination on Wednesday, 23 September, when financial prosecutors interrogated Dati late into the evening. The 60-year-old mayor of Paris's 7th arrondissement maintained that her work constituted genuine legal counsel fully compatible with her European parliamentary mandate. Her testimony on Thursday concluded a four-day interrogation at the witness stand, which had originally been scheduled to last only one day.

“Yes, I know how to read and write, I am a lawyer, and I am French!”