French voters will decide my fate, says Fillon as he battles on despite charges
CONSERVATIVE candidate Francois Fillon has refused to quit France’s rollercoaster presidential race despite receiving a summons to face charges of faking government-paid parliamentary jobs for his family, including his British wife.
Calling the investigation a “political assassination”, Mr Fillon urged his supporters to “resist” and said he would leave it up to French voters to decide his fate.
Once a front-runner in the election race, Mr Fillon’s chances have slipped since the probe was opened in January.
Cracks started to emerge in Mr Fillon’s Republicans party hours after his announcement, with the resignation of a top ally.
But it is unclear whether Mr Fillon’s decision will dramatically alter the electoral landscape, where 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 run-off on May 7.
Mr Fillon has denied all allegations against him and said legal procedures were not properly followed in the investigation, which he called unprecedented and unacceptable during a presidential elec- tion campaign. He said he was summoned for questioning on March 15 “with the goal of being given preliminary charges”.
The court summons was widely expected after the financial prosecutor’s office pushed the case to a higher level on Friday, opening a formal judicial inquiry. The investigative weekly Le Canard Enchaine reported that payments were made to his Welsh wife Penelope andtwooftheirfivechildren that totalled over €1 million (£850,000) over many years.
Mr Fillon initially said he would withdraw from the race if he was charged, but later said he was determined to let voters judge him instead of investigators.
After a preliminary investigation opened on January 25, the financial prosecutor’s office decided on Friday to launch a formal judicial inquiry. The list of potential charges now includes misappropriation of public funds, abuse of public funds and influence trafficking.