French favourite rocked by probe

The French presidential campaign had its first major scandal break on Wednesday when prosecutors opened a probe into frontrunner Francois Fillon.

The national financial prosecutor started a preliminary criminal investigation into Fillon’s employment of his wife as a parliamentary aide starting in 1998.

Satirical weekly Le Canard Enchainé reported a day earlier that Penelope Fillon had collected a public salary of about €500,000 over a period of several years without actually doing any work.

For 62-year-old Fillon, who pollsters have made the clear favourite since he won the Republicans’ nomination in November, the consequences are potentially far-reaching. The lifelong politician has vaunted his probity as one of his main qualifications for office.

In a statement on Wednesday evening, Fillon said the investigation would allow him to put an end to unfounded accusations and he wanted to speak to prosecutors as soon as possible.

Fillon’s spokesman said on Thursday that Penelope’s work was mostly representing her husband in his rural constituency in western France when he was away at the National Assembly in Paris.

“This is no small matter and anything could happen,” said Gerard Grunberg, a senior researcher at the Paris Institute for Political Sciences.

“This affair hurts Fillon’s political image, which was built on transparency and oldfashioned respectability.”

TWISTS AND TURNS

The race has already seen Fillon’s Republicans reject France’s most popular politician for their candidate; former president Nicolas Sarkozy lose in a firstround primary and the governing Socialists eclipsed by 39year-old independent Emmanuel Macron. The prosecutors’ decision adds a new layer of volatility and Macron may be in the best position to benefit.

A former economy minister for Socialist president Francois Hollande and before that a banker at Rothschild, Macron is relatively new to politics and so far has remained free from scandals and legal complications. While he is yet to break into the top two in polling for the first round in April, he has seen his support grow steadily since declaring his candidacy last year and large, enthusiastic crowds attend many of his rallies.

Marine Le Pen’s team is also sensing an opportunity.

“For a candidate who boasted of his integrity, the fact that he was above the fray, this is surprising,” David Rachline, Le Pen’s campaign chief, said on France 5 television. “It raises a lot of questions.”