Wife of French Candidate François Fillon Faces Formal Inquiry
By REUTERSMARCH 28, 2017
PARIS — The faltering campaign of the French presidential candidate François Fillon suffered another setback on Tuesday when
magistrates placed his wife under formal investigation over accusations that he paid her for a fake parliamentary job.
Mr. Fillon, 63, the main conservative candidate in France’s presidential election being held over two rounds in April
and May, had been favored to win until the allegations about fake jobs surfaced in late January.
The allegations were reported by the satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaîné, which said Penelope Fillon had drawn about 500,000 euros, or about $540,000,
in salary over eight years for working as an assistant to her husband when he was a lawmaker and later to the man who replaced him.
While denying that he did anything illegal, Mr. Fillon has conceded
that he made errors of judgment, both in connection with the furor over his wife’s job and in accepting expensive suits as a gift from a lawyer renowned for his role as a deal maker in Africa.
Mr. Fillon’s wife, Penelope Fillon, will be investigated to determine whether she was complicit in misappropriating public funds
and several related offenses, a judicial official said.
Mr. Fillon has tumbled to third place in opinion polls, which show him as likely to be eliminated in the first round of the election on April 23.