Francois Hollande condemns allegations by Francois Fillon of a government plot against him

French President Francois Hollande
French President Francois Hollande Credit: AFP

French President Francois Hollande has condemned allegations by Francois Fillon that he was involved in what the presidential candidate alleges is a government plot to spread damaging media leaks about his financial affairs.

Mr Hollande "condemns with the greatest firmness the false allegations of Fillon", the president's office said. 

Mr Fillon had earlier accused Mr Hollande of directly being behind what he claimed was a plot against him.

"You have newspapers today which receive documents 48 hours after they were seized in searches, for example in my office in the National Assembly. Who gives them these documents? The government," he said in a television interview.

Francois Fillon and his wife Penelope attend a campaign meeting in Paris.
Francois Fillon and his wife Penelope attend a campaign meeting in Paris. Credit: Christophe Ena/AP

Asked if politicians or the justice system gave approval for this, Mr Fillon said: "I will go much further. I blame the president of the republic."

The 63-year-old former prime minister was the leader in the race for the Elysee and seemed comfortably on course late last year to recover power for the centre-right The Republicans party after five years of Socialist rule.

That was until media reports in late January sent his ratings tumbling by disclosing he had paid his wife Penelope and two children hundreds of thousands of euros of public funds for work they may not have carried out.

French presidential election candidate for the right-wing Les Republicains (LR) party Francois Fillon
French presidential election candidate for the right-wing Les Republicains (LR) party Francois Fillon Credit: ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP

He is now under formal investigation for misappropriation of public funds and a source close to the inquiry said on Tuesday that the investigation was being broadened to include suspicion that false documents had been presented to justify the employment of his family members.

A lawyer for his British-born wife said. "Since Penelope Fillon's past activities on behalf of her husband were real, all the documents pertaining to this work are also unquestionably genuine," lawyer Pierre Cornut-Gentille said in a statement.

Additionally, Le Canard enchaine - the newspaper that first disclosed the "Penelope-gate" scandal - reported on Wednesday that a Lebanese billionaire paid a company owned by Fillon $50,000 in 2015 to arrange introductions to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne. This was dismissed by the Kremlin as 'fake news'.

(From Right) Russian President Vladimir Putin, former French Prime Minister Francois Fillon and businessman Fouad Makhzoumi at meeting on the sidelines of an economic forum in St. Petersburg in 2015
(From Right) Russian President Vladimir Putin, former French Prime Minister Francois Fillon and businessman Fouad Makhzoumi at meeting on the sidelines of an economic forum in St. Petersburg in 2015 Credit:  Mikhail Klimentyev/AP

Mr Fillon has firmly denied all the allegations. 

 

License this content