French presidential candidate Francois Fillon has apologized to the electorate over a scandal surrounding his employment of his wife. Fillon denied any wrongdoing, however, and has pledged not to stand down.
Image: Reuters/B. Tessier
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What you need to know about Francois Fillon and "Penelopegate"
Francois Fillon is struggling to rebuild his presidential campaign after accusations that he hired family members in "fake jobs". But what exactly has Fillon been accused of - and how has he defended himself?
Image: picture-alliance/abaca/A. Robert
Frontrunner no more
Many expected Francois Fillon to be a shoo-in for the presidency. The former French prime minister easily won the conservative primary with 67 percent of the vote. But then Penelopegate hit. Weekly newspaper Canard Enchaine reported that Fillon's wife Penelope and two of his children had received close to one million euros in salaries from Fillon, paid by the state. Fillon's popularity tumbled.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. Bureau
Working for her husband?
It is not illegal in France to hire family members as parliamentary assistants - provided they have real jobs. Fillon's wife was paid 830,000 euros ($900,000) as a parliamentary assistant for 15 years, working (or - as some have suggested - "working") for Fillon and his replacement in parliament. Police are currently investigating whether Penelope provided services for the salary she received.
Image: picture alliance/abaca/Y. Korbi
Keeping it in the family
Reporters also revealed that Fillon paid his two oldest children 84,000 euros for working as assistants between 2005 and 2007. Fillon argued that he had hired Marie and Charles Fillon for their legal expertise - though the two were still in law school when they had jobs with their father.
Image: Picture-Alliance/dpa/R. Jensen
More accusations
Penelope was also employed at an art magazine from May 2012 to December 2013, where she was paid roughly 5,000 euros a month. The owner of the magazine had previously been recommended for France's highest honor, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, by then-prime minister Francois Fillon. Fillon has said that these two facts were unrelated.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/E. Feferberg
A smear campaign?
Fillon has repeatedly denied charges that he used "fake jobs" to enrich his family. He has said that he employed his wife and children because he trusted them and accused the media of running a smear campaign against him. Nevertheless, Penelopegate has severely damaged the campaign of the 63-year old, who has sold himself to French voters as an honest family man keen on cutting public spending.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/P. Desmazes
Certainly not a first
The accusations against Fillon are hardly the first of their kind in France. Ex-President Jacques Chirac was found guilty in 2011 of employing party members in "fake jobs" as mayor of Paris. Former president Nicolas Sarkozy is being investigated for illegal campaign financing, and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen is suspected of paying officials in her far-right party with EU funds.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/C. Ena
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Francois Fillon defended himself against accusations of embezzlement in a press conference on Monday. "I have worked for my country without ever breaking the law," the conservative presidential candidate said from his campaign headquarters in Paris.
Fillon said that though he had hired his wife and two children, they were paid "perfectly justifiable salaries" for the work they did for him.
The 62-year-old apologized for what he said was an error of judgment. But he denied accusations that he had misappropriated money, saying he had employed his wife and children because he trusted them.
Fillon said his wife, Penelope, had worked constantly to assist him while he was a member of parliament and that her average monthly salary of 3,700 euros ($4,000) had been fair considering that she had studied law and philosophy.
He reiterated allegations that the press had mischaracterized the situation, saying "it is not for the media to judge me: It is for the French people to judge me." Fillon said he was the victim of a smear campaign and accused news outlets of showing a lack of judgment and balance.
The candidate said he would continue his presidential campaign and not step down. He also promised to publish tables detailing payments made to his wife on Monday night.
From front-runner to accused
French police are currently investigating whether Fillon's family members actually did work for Fillon in exchange for their salaries. The former front-runner in the French presidential election could potentially be charged with embezzlement and misappropriation of funds.
Since a French magazine reported that Fillon paid his wife a total of 830,000 euros ($900,000) over 15 years to work as his assistant, Fillon has dropped dramatically in polls. It was also revealed that Fillon paid two of his children 84,000 euros for assistant work and that his wife was paid close to 100,000 euros to work for an art magazine. The owner of the magazine was later recommended for France's highest honor, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, by Francois Fillon.
Francois Fillon and his wife Penelope during the presidential campaignImage: Getty Images/AFP/E. Feferberg
Current forecasts by the French pollster OpinionWay show the independent center-left candidate Emmanuel Macron and Marine LePen of the nationalist-extremist Front National ahead in the presidential race, with 23 and 26 percent of the vote respectively, while Fillon would receive 20 percent of the votes.
The two most successful candidates in the first election in April will face each other in a runoff in May (unless one candidate receives over 50 percent of the vote in the first round - which is seen as highly unlikely).
What you need to know about Francois Fillon and "Penelopegate"
Francois Fillon is struggling to rebuild his presidential campaign after accusations that he hired family members in "fake jobs". But what exactly has Fillon been accused of - and how has he defended himself?
Image: picture-alliance/abaca/A. Robert
Frontrunner no more
Many expected Francois Fillon to be a shoo-in for the presidency. The former French prime minister easily won the conservative primary with 67 percent of the vote. But then Penelopegate hit. Weekly newspaper Canard Enchaine reported that Fillon's wife Penelope and two of his children had received close to one million euros in salaries from Fillon, paid by the state. Fillon's popularity tumbled.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. Bureau
Working for her husband?
It is not illegal in France to hire family members as parliamentary assistants - provided they have real jobs. Fillon's wife was paid 830,000 euros ($900,000) as a parliamentary assistant for 15 years, working (or - as some have suggested - "working") for Fillon and his replacement in parliament. Police are currently investigating whether Penelope provided services for the salary she received.
Image: picture alliance/abaca/Y. Korbi
Keeping it in the family
Reporters also revealed that Fillon paid his two oldest children 84,000 euros for working as assistants between 2005 and 2007. Fillon argued that he had hired Marie and Charles Fillon for their legal expertise - though the two were still in law school when they had jobs with their father.
Image: Picture-Alliance/dpa/R. Jensen
More accusations
Penelope was also employed at an art magazine from May 2012 to December 2013, where she was paid roughly 5,000 euros a month. The owner of the magazine had previously been recommended for France's highest honor, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, by then-prime minister Francois Fillon. Fillon has said that these two facts were unrelated.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/E. Feferberg
A smear campaign?
Fillon has repeatedly denied charges that he used "fake jobs" to enrich his family. He has said that he employed his wife and children because he trusted them and accused the media of running a smear campaign against him. Nevertheless, Penelopegate has severely damaged the campaign of the 63-year old, who has sold himself to French voters as an honest family man keen on cutting public spending.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/P. Desmazes
Certainly not a first
The accusations against Fillon are hardly the first of their kind in France. Ex-President Jacques Chirac was found guilty in 2011 of employing party members in "fake jobs" as mayor of Paris. Former president Nicolas Sarkozy is being investigated for illegal campaign financing, and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen is suspected of paying officials in her far-right party with EU funds.
