French Presidential candidate Francois Fillon has been formally charged over allegations that he used public money to pay family members, including his wife, for work they might not have done.
The decision to support Francois Fillon's candidacy was taken at an emergency meeting after former prime minister Alain Juppe ruled out replacing him.
The Republicans had tipped Alain Juppe to replace their crisis-hit presidential candidate Francois Fillon, whose popularity has waned over a fake jobs scandal.
Despite mounting pressure after corruption allegations, France's conservative presidential candidate is refusing to withdraw from the election. His campaign chief and chief spokesperson also quit on Friday.
The raid in Paris is part of an investigation into whether Fillon paid his wife hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax payer money for works as his parliamentary aide – work she allegedly did not do.
Calling the investigation into his hiring of family members for fake parliamentary jobs "political assassination," Fillon called on his supporters to "resist" and said he would leave it up to voters to decide his fate.
The former prime minister saw his ratings drop after prosecutors opened an inquiry into accusations that he gave large amounts of taxpayers' money to his wife and two children for "fake jobs."
Francois Fillon rejects 'abject' allegations of wife's fake job and says "clearly these allegations are to try and take me down as a presidential candidate."
Former French prime minister Francois Fillon has now become the favourite for next year's presidential race against far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
France's Republican party has held a primary that has whittled down the number of Republican presidential candidates to two. There's also the far-right National Front's Marine Le Pen as a formidable rival. And the Socialists? Don't ask.
Subscribe to our Youtube channel for all latest in-depth, on the ground reporting from around the world.
Copyright © 2023 TRT World.
Like
Follow