Former French prime minister and presidential candidate Francois Fillon was yesterday to try to keep his embattled campaign on track after he revealed he is to be charged over a fake jobs scandal that has dogged his bid.
The 62-year-old conservative was the favorite at the turn of the year to become France’s next leader after clinching the nomination for the Republicans party in November last year.
However, allegations that Fillon had used public funds to pay his British-born wife, Penelope, and two of their children about 900,000 euros (US$950,000) for fake parliamentary jobs have eroded his support, and on Wednesday he announced that he would face criminal charges over the claims.
Fillon is to meet investigating magistrates on March 15, but he issued a defiant statement, saying that the charges were “entirely calculated to stop me being a candidate for the presidential election.”
“I won’t give in, I won’t surrender and I won’t withdraw,” Fillon said, claiming he was the target of a “political assassination.”
A source close to the case told reporters that Penelope, who shuns the limelight, would also be summoned to be charged.
Within hours of Fillon’s news conference, support began to ebb away.
A senior aide, Bruno Le Maire, quit his team and criticized him for backtracking on a pledge to step aside if he was charged.
A small centrist party, the UDI, said it was “suspending” its support and would decide whether to withdraw its backing for good.
One poll yesterday showed that only 25 percent of French people thought Fillon should carry on with his presidential bid, a sharp drop compared with early last month.
Fillon’s woes are the latest twist in an extraordinary campaign that culminates in a two-stage contest on April 23 and May 7.
High-flying centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron yesterday unveiled his policy program in an attempt to answer critics who say the 39-year-old former French economy minister is all image and little substance.
As part of his agenda, he vowed to end nepotism in government by preventing parliamentarians from employing their family members.
He told Le Parisien newspaper that he would aim to slash unemployment to 7 percent by 2022, equivalent to taking 900,000 people out of the unemployment lines.
He said yesterday that EU members must vigorously defend their single market in talks with Britain on its exit, and urged efforts to reinvigorate the eurozone and closer European cooperation.
He also called for an international “roadmap” to better fight Islamic extremism from the Middle East to Africa.
Macron is currently shown as the winner of a presidential run-off vote in May, with polls indicating he would face National Front leader Marine Le Pen.
Fillon has been defiant throughout the scandal that has shadowed him since January, but he will now face his biggest challenge yet to keep his Republicans party colleagues in line.
The allegations are particularly damaging after he campaigned as a sleaze-free reformer who would slash wasteful public spending.
Fillon has claimed that the justice system is being manipulated to prevent him from seeking election.
Additional reporting by AP
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