French former minister Rachida Dati has gone on trial in Paris for corruption, accused of taking money from Renault-Nissan in return for political influence.

Dati, 61, who was justice minister under former President Nicolas Sarkozy and culture minister under Emmanuel Macron, is known to have been paid €900,000 (£770,000) by the car giant between 2009 and 2013.

According to a contract signed in 2009, shortly after she ceased being a minister under Sarkozy and was elected as a member of the European Parliament, the payment was for legal services performed for the company.

But magistrates argue the contract was used to disguise payments for lobbying work. Dati denies the allegations.

Magistrates believe Renault-Nissan’s former CEO Carlos Ghosn recruited Dati to lobby on the company’s behalf in the European Parliament, and to facilitate contacts with Sarkozy who was head of state until 2012.

Ghosn, 72, is also standing trial and denies any wrongdoing. He will be absent from court, having been a fugitive in Lebanon since 2019.

Dati’s lawyers will contest the charges, which if substantiated carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail, a large fine, and a five-year ban on holding public office.

This could mean her being forced to surrender the mayorship of the wealthy 7th district of Paris, which she has held since 2008.

Dati returned to national politics in 2024 as culture minister but resigned in February to launch a bid to be mayor of the city of Paris.

She was beaten by the Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire after a campaign in which her forthcoming trial was used as an argument against her.

Anti-corruption groups acting as civil plaintiffs in the trial say stricter legal limits need to be established on political lobbying in France.

“The affair illustrates the risks of public decision-making being captured by private interests,” said Patrick Lefas of Transparency International France.