Fillon ‘convinced’ he will be found innocent

PARIS: French conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon said on Wednesday he was “convinced” the justice system wouldclear his name in a fake jobs case that has dented his chances of being elected.

On Tuesday, Fillon was placed under formal investigation over claims he gave his wife a fake job paid from public funds.

“First of all I want to say that I’m innocent,” Fillon said in an interview on Radio Classique, insisting that he had done no more than”hundreds of [other] parliamentarians” in employing his wife as his parliamentary aide.

Investigators are looking into allegations, first published i nJanuary by satirical newspaper Le Canard Enchaine, that Penelope Fillon did not actually work for her taxpayer-funded salary.

Fillon staunchly denies the claims. He has been stuck in third placein opinion polls since the allegations surfaced, behind far-right candidate Marine Le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron.

Only the top two candidates in April’s first round of voting can go through to the decisive run-off vote in May. “I am convinced that the justice system, even if it takes time, will establish my innocence,” Fillon said on Wednesday.

He argued that the probe was following a “political calendar” and hewas therefore no longer bound by a previous pledge to withdraw hiscandidacy if placed under formal investigation.

Pulling out would mean giving in to machinations aimed at forcing voters to choose between Marine Le Pen and the left, Fillon claimed.

Fillon dismissed Macron’s claim to present an alternative, saying the former economy minister under Socialist President Francois Hollande was “a younger Francois Hollande” and had no concrete plans to reinvigorate the economy. — dpa