French police on Thursday searched the home of Culture Minister Rachida Dati, as well as the ministry and the Paris town hall she presides over, as part of a corruption probe.
The police raid comes as Dati, who heads the town hall in the upmarket seventh district of Paris, is campaigning to be elected overall mayor of the French capital next year.
Dati, 60, has been accused of accepting nearly 300,000 euros ($343,000) in undeclared payments from major energy group GDF Suez while a member of the European parliament between 2010 and 2011. She has denied any wrongdoing.
Her lawyer Olivier Pardo declined to comment to AFP on Thursday's raids.
The national financial prosecutor's office on Thursday said it had opened an investigation on October 14 into Dati over possible corruption, influence peddling and embezzlement of public funds.
It said the searches targeted locations including "the city hall of Paris's seventh district and the ministry of culture, as well as private residences". A source close to the case told AFP that a search was conducted at Dati's home.
Dati held a seat in the European parliament from 2009 to 2019 on behalf of France's traditional mainstream right-wing party, and has been repeatedly accused of influence peddling.
Accusations that she was lobbying on behalf of GDF Suez first emerged in French media reports in 2013 and the European parliament's ethics committee questioned her.
French investigative television show "Complément d'Enquête" and the Nouvel Observateur magazine renewed the allegations in June.
She was accused by both outlets of accepting 299,000 euros from GDF Suez in two payments that transited through a now-defunct law firm, STC Partners, which coincided with her taking pro-gas positions in public and in parliament.
Ghosn case
Dati has been accused in several cases.
She was charged in 2021 with "passive corruption" over her dealings with disgraced former Renault chief Carlos Ghosn, also while she was a member of the European parliament.
She is accused of accepting 900,000 euros in lawyer's fees from 2010-2012 from a Netherlands-based subsidiary of Renault-Nissan, and is due to stand trial next year for alleged corruption and abuse of power.
Read moreFrance's culture minister to face corruption trial linked to Ghosn case
Dati also denies wrongdoing in that case.
In another case, prosecutors said in September that they were looking into reports she failed to declare luxury jewellery.
In April, French daily Libération reported that Dati had not declared jewellery and watches worth 420,000 euros upon taking ministerial office.
Citing Dati's asset declaration from 2024, Liberation reported that the politician declared wealth of some 5.6 million euros in real estate, savings and life insurance. There was no mention of jewellery.
She retorted in May that she had "nothing to put in order".
Dati wants to become the French capital's second woman mayor in a row in the March 2026 municipal vote.
She hopes to replace Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo, 66, who is to step down after two terms in the post.
Dati has served as culture minister under four prime ministers since early 2024, most recently under Sébastien Lecornu.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)