Rabat – French authorities on Thursday searched the home of Culture Minister Rachida Dati, along with her ministry offices and the Paris town hall she presides over, as part of an ongoing corruption investigation.
The raids come as Dati campaigns to become the next mayor of Paris in the March 2026 municipal elections, aiming to succeed Socialist Anne Hidalgo. Dati currently heads the city hall of the affluent seventh district.
The national financial prosecutor’s office confirmed that an investigation opened on October 14 targets possible corruption, influence peddling, and embezzlement of public funds.
Searches focused on the Culture Ministry, Dati’s private residence, and the Paris seventh district town hall.
Dati has been accused of receiving nearly €300,000 ($343,000) in undeclared payments from major energy group GDF Suez while serving as a Member of the European Parliament between 2010 and 2011.
She has consistently denied any wrongdoing. Her lawyer, Olivier Pardo, declined to comment on Thursday’s raids.
These allegations first surfaced in French media in 2013, prompting scrutiny from the European Parliament’s ethics committee.
Renewed claims in June by investigative television show Complément d’Enquête and Nouvel Observateur suggested that Dati received €299,000 from GDF Suez via the now-defunct law firm STC Partners, coinciding with her promotion of pro-gas positions in public and parliamentary debates.
Dati has faced multiple legal challenges. In 2021, she was charged with “passive corruption” in connection with former Renault chief Carlos Ghosn, accused of accepting €900,000 in legal fees from a Netherlands-based Renault-Nissan subsidiary.
She is due to stand trial next year for alleged corruption and abuse of power and has denied wrongdoing in that case.
In September, prosecutors also investigated reports that Dati failed to declare luxury jewellery upon assuming ministerial office.
French daily Libération reported in April that she did not disclose watches and jewellery valued at €420,000, despite declaring €5.6 million in real estate, savings, and life insurance in 2024. Dati responded in May that she had “nothing to put in order.”
Dati’s political career includes a decade in the European Parliament representing France’s mainstream right-wing party.
She has served as Culture Minister under four prime ministers since early 2024, most recently under Sébastien Lecornu. Her campaign for Paris mayor would make her the second consecutive woman to hold the post, if elected.
