Pressure mounts as beleaguered Fillon attempts to revive campaign

● Conservatives considering Fillon’s party rival Juppé to run in his place

0 François Fillon and his wife Penelope wave from the stage at supporters during a rally in Paris yesterday. The presidential candidate has seen his popularity fall French conservative François Fillon clung to his presidential candidacy yesterday, urging thousands of supporters at a high-stakes rally not to flee his ship despite escalating pressure to step aside overimpending corruption charges.

The presidential candidate for the Republicans party acknowledged errors in judgment but insisted he was being unfairly targeted in an election season. He also assailed conservative allies who have abandoned his campaign in recent days, throwing his candidacy into doubt.

The scandal has highlighted entrenched corruption in French politics. Former conservative allies are disillusioned by how Fillon has handled the investigation into allegations he arranged fake parliamentary assistant jobs for his wife and two of his children.

If Fillon quits or is forced out by his party, it could plunge France’s already unpredictable presidential campaign into unprecedented disarray, with just seven weeks before the first round of France’s tworound April-may presidential vote.

Fillon was once the frontrunner in the race, but his ratings have fallen since the jobs allegations were revealed by weekly Le Canard Enchaine in January.

Fillon showed no sign of backing down yesterday.

At the rally on Place du Trocadéro, he told supporters: “You should not surrender to worry or anger.” He also thanked “those of you who will never give up the fight, you who always refuse to listen to the siren calls of discouragement.”

Fillon’s party, the Republicans, is holding a meeting of its political committee this evening to evaluate the situation after yesterday’s rally.

Hundreds of left-wing protesters held a counter-demonstration across the city to denounce widespread political corruption among France’s political elite.

Many conservatives want former Prime Minister Alain Juppé, the runner-up to Fillon in the conservative primary, to run in Fillon’s place. Juppé, another former prime minister, campaigned on a more moderate platform than the tough-on-security, pro-free market Fillon. Juppé has said he won’t run as a replacement

Polls now suggest far-right leader Marine Le Pen and centrist independent candidate Emmanuel Macron would come out on top in first vote on 23 April. The top two in that vote go on to compete in the 7 May presidential runoff.

Le Pen is currently leading in the polls despite facing several of her own judicial inquiries.