Candidate charged with embezzlement
PARIS — French centerright presidential candidate François Fillon was formally placed under investigation and charged with several counts of embezzlement on Tuesday, further hobbling a campaign that he has nonetheless vowed to continue.
The charges, though expected, were announced a day earlier than anticipated, after the newspaper Le Canard Enchaîné leaked the development over Twitter.
Fillon is facing several corruption allegations, mainly that his wife and two of his children were paid with taxpayer funds as parliamentary aides for work that was not genuine.
Fillon, formerly the front-runner after winning primaries on the center-right in November, has seen his campaign upended since January, when Le Canard Enchaîné, a weekly newspaper that mixes satire and investigations, first reported on allegations that his wife drew a public salary for what amounted to a no-show job.
In the days that followed the report, Fillon pledged to drop out of the race if he were to be placed under formal investigation and charged, but he later reversed that commitment, saying that only French voters could determine his fate.
Though his standing has plummeted, he has vowed to press on, as his Republicans party has few if any good alternatives.
Fillon met with judges investigating the case on Tuesday morning and was charged with embezzlement of public funds, receiving money from the misuse of those funds, and complicity in misusing those funds, according to the national financial prosecutor’s office. He was also charged for failing to fully declare his assets to financial transparency authorities.