Fillon to be charged over fake family jobs

paris — Conservative Francois Fillon promised on Wednesday to fight “to the end” in France’s presidential election despite a deepening investigation into a financial scandal, but his campaign suffered a new blow as a top aide resigned.

The former prime minister revealed that investigating magistrates had summoned him to appear before them on March 15 to be placed under formal investigation over allegations that he paid his wife hundreds of thousands of euros of public money to do very little work.

In a defiant speech at his party headquarters, he repeated his denials of wrongdoing, complained of judicial and media bias amounting to a “political assassination”, and appealed directly for the support of the French people.

“It’s not just me being assassinated. It’s the presidential election,” he said, flanked by senior party members, after a morning of speculation he was about to quit the race.

“I put myself before the French people because it is their suffrage,

I put myself before the French people because it is their suffrage, and not a biased procedure, that should decide who should be the president of the republic of France. I won’t give in, I won’t surrender, I won’t pull out, I’ll fight to the end Francois Fillon, Presidential candidate

and not a biased procedure, that should decide who should be the president of the republic of France. I won’t give in, I won’t surrender, I won’t pull out, I’ll fight to the end.”

The wife of Francois Fillon, Penelope Fillon, will be charged as well as the rightwing presidential candidate over allegations that he gave her fake jobs, a source close to the probe said on Wednesday.

Fillon’s stand came as opinion polls continued to show he would fail to make the second round of the April/May election, albeit by a narrow margin.

They showed independent centrist Emmanuel Macron consolidating his status as favourite, followed by far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen.

Analysts said the latest developments should strengthen the position of Macron. “The word from Fillon is that he soldiers on regardless and that leaves Macron as the candidate most likely to win,” said Societe Generale strategist Ciaran O’Hagan. — Reuters