Rachida Dati to return to judiciary at her own request

Rachida Dati is set to return to the judiciary just days before she appears in a high-profile corruption trial, a decision that France's main magistrates' union says sends a "contradictory message."

The former justice minister requested reinstatement as a magistrate, a right she is entitled to exercise, the Justice Ministry told AFP on Friday. The move confirmed a report by Le Nouvel Obs. Dati, 60, who remains mayor of Paris's right-wing 7th arrondissement after losing the city's mayoral election in March, has obtained a position as first deputy prosecutor in the central administration of justice, according to the report.

Her appointment will follow the usual transparency procedure for magistrates. The ministry said the Justice Minister would follow the opinion of the Superior Council of the Judiciary. That opinion is expected within two weeks to one month, after possible appeals from other candidates for the position have been reviewed.

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Ms. Dati requested her reinstatement as a magistrate, as she is entitled to do, and will shortly be assigned under the usual transparency procedure for magistrates.

Dati is due before the Paris criminal court from Sept. 16 to 28. Prosecutors accuse her of an alleged corruption pact and of illegally lobbying the European Parliament on behalf of Renault and its former chief executive, Carlos Ghosn. Dati served as a European lawmaker from 2009 to 2019 and received 900,000 euros between 2009 and 2013 under a flat-fee legal services agreement. She says she performed entirely lawful legal work. She faces up to 10 years in prison and a five-year ban on standing for election.

Ludovic Friat, president of the USM, the largest magistrates' union, told AFP that politicians already criticize the judiciary over ethics, magistrates' responsibility and the need to protect the institution's image. He said the reinstatement plan, coming so close to Dati's media-heavy trial, sends a "contradictory message." Dati also appears in other legal cases at less advanced procedural stages, and in May she was placed under the status of assisted witness in a related investigation.

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The judiciary is under heavy criticism from political leaders, particularly over the ethics and responsibility of magistrates, as well as the need to preserve the institution's image, but this reinstatement plan, just days before a high-profile criminal trial involving her, sends a contradictory message.