The Right would be wiped out if I quit, says Fillon
FRANÇOIS FILLON refused yesterday to bow to pressure from the ranks of his centreRight party to quit the French presidential race over a financial scandal that has derailed his campaign.
With only two months to go before the election, Mr Fillon defied calls from MPs to stand down, saying that the Right risked being “wiped out” if he were to quit.
Addressing MPs during a stormy meeting of the National Assembly, he said: “I have established that there is no better alternative solution and the withdrawal of my candidacy today would create a major crisis.”
Once the frontrunner, Mr Fillon has plunged into third place in the polls after allegations that his British wife, Penelope, was paid more than €800,000 (£680,000) of public money for a fake job as his parliamentary aide.
Before the meeting, Georges Fenech, an MP from Mr Fillon’s party, The Republicans, said: “We have realised that we can no longer campaign on the ground in the face of a disastrous situation for our political family. We’ll tell Mr Fillon to assume his responsibilities.”
Mr Fenech, who accused Mr Fillon of “denying reality”, led a group of 40 MPs who wrote an open letter demanding a crisis meeting of the party’s political committee to settle the fate of the candidate.
After the talks yesterday, the group backed down, but disquiet persists.
Mr Fillon was forced to cancel a campaign event in the city of Limoges scheduled for Friday, because the Republican mayor, EmileRoger Lombertie, refused to meet him, Le Figaro newspaper reported.
Mr Fillon has promised to withdraw from the race if he is charged over the scandal involving his wife, but he insists that no charges will be brought because he has not broken the law.
The investigative and satirical weekly, Le Canard Enchainé, which revealed the scandal, said it would disclose details of a tax investigation allegedly targeting Mr Fillon’s spokesman, Thierry Solère, in its issue to appear today.
Mr Solère said he would sue the weekly for libel over its claim. “I have always declared my income and I am up to date with my tax payments,” he said.