Candidate stays in race despite pending charges
PARIS — Conservative candidate Francois Fillon refused to quit France’s roller-coaster presidential race Wednesday despite receiving a summons to face charges of getting his wife and children taxpayer-funded jobs in which they allegedly did no work.
Calling the judicial investigation a “political assassination,” Fillon urged his supporters to “resist” and said he would leave it up to French voters to decide his fate. Once a frontrunner in the presidential race, Fillon’s chances have slipped since the probe began in January.
But it’s unclear whether Fillon’s decision will dramatically alter the electoral landscape, since the polls are dominated now by far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen and centrist independent candidate Emmanuel Macron.
The top two presidential vote-getters in France’s April 23 ballot will head to a presidential runoff on May 7.
Fillon held an emergency party meeting Wednesday after receiving the legal summons and postponed a campaign stop, prompting media speculation that he could quit the race.
“I will not surrender,” he told reporters at his headquarters later. “I will not withdraw.”
Fillon denied all allegations and said legal procedures were not properly followed in the probe, which he called unprecedented and unacceptable during a presidential election campaign.
Fillon’s comments prompted a strong reaction from President Francois Hollande, who said Fillon has no right to cast suspicion over the work done by police and judges or “create a climate of mistrust incompatible with the spirit of responsibility and, even worse, to throw extremely serious accusations against justice and, more broadly, our institutions.”
The alleged fake jobs that Fillon gave his family are especially shocking to many voters because of Fillon’s promise to cut government spending and his clean-cut image. The investigative weekly Le Canard Enchaine reported that payments were made to his wife, Penelope Fillon, and two of their five children that totaled more than $1.1 million over many years.
Fillon initially said he would withdraw from the race if he was charged, but later said he was determined to let voters judge him.
“France is greater than my errors,” he said Wednesday.