Culture Minister Dati Threatens Journalist Live on TV Amid Corruption Allegations

While Patrick Cohen, in his role as interviewer, bombarded her with questions about her indictment in the Carlos Ghosn case for passive corruption and the recent accusations against her by the Complément d’enquête magazine, Rachida Dati reacted by threatening the journalist live to denounce him to the justice system for alleged acts of moral harassment revealed by Mediapart in February.

"Mr. Cohen, have you harassed your collaborators? Is that true Mr. Cohen?" asked the minister. And to threaten: "You could also fall under this offense (of harassment). It would be enough for me to make an article 40 to denounce following this article by Mediapart. I can seize the court [...] I can do it." Article 40 requires any constituted authority or civil servant to report to the prosecutor any offenses of which he or she becomes aware in the performance of his or her duties, recalls 7sur7.

Rachida Dati is accused of having received 299,000 euros in fees from GDF Suez when she was a Member of the European Parliament, without declaring the origin to the European Parliament. The Franco-Moroccan minister denied these facts, and retaliated by referring to the alleged acts of moral harassment attributed to Patrick Cohen when he was in charge of the morning show on France Inter.

Rachida Dati also attacked the host of the show, Anne-Elisabeth Lemoine, in these terms: "In the same way, it has been said that at C à vous, the atmosphere is awful, that you cry all day, that everyone is being accused." "No, that’s not true," retorted Anne-Elisabeth Lemoine. "What you’re doing, Mrs. Dati, is not very flattering. It’s dishonoring," said Patrick Cohen.

"Personal attacks against journalists are not acceptable," reacted France Télévisions, which "gives its full support to the C à vous teams and all its journalists, who will continue to carry out their work serenely and freely."