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Rachida Dati. Photo: Sipa Press
French Culture Minister Rachida Dati, who is running for mayor of Paris, has said she will leave the government ahead of the municipal elections. Dati made the announcement in an interview with public radio station France Inter but did not specify the date of her resignation.
“Until recently, it was not incompatible for a minister to campaign in the context of elections. Today, I respect all the ethical rules…but of course I will leave the government,” Dati said.
Dati, who is also mayor of Paris’ 7th arrondissement, said the election campaign will officially begin on March 2. The first round of the Paris mayoral election is scheduled for March 16. According to opinion polls, Dati is running second with around 26% support, giving her a good chance of advancing to the runoff. (Frontrunner Emmanuel Grégoire polls at 33%.)
In September, Dati is due to appear in a Paris court on charges of corruption and influence peddling. Prosecutors suspect she illegally received 900,000 euros ($975,000) from a Renault-Nissan subsidiary between 2010 and 2012, when she was a member of the European Parliament. Dati denies the allegations, saying the payments were for legal consulting work.
The Insider has previously reported on corruption scandals involving Dati. In particular, the minister is suspected of receiving jewelry worth more than 420,000 euros ($455,000) as gifts from Henri Proglio, with whom she was romantically involved. In September 2025, the Paris prosecutor’s office opened a preliminary inquiry after media reports said the jewelry was not listed in her asset declaration. The case remains at the preliminary review stage.
Proglio holds senior positions at several French energy and defense companies while also serving on the board of ABR Management, a firm that manages assets for Russian oligarch brothers Yury and Mikhail Kovalchuk. As reported by The Insider, the French executive continues to earn income from three consulting companies in Russia and regularly travels to the country.