The beleaguered French presidential candidate, François Fillon, has been charged with misuse of public funds.
The conservative candidate was charged on Tuesday by a Paris-based prosecutor, Bloomberg reports. The charges came a day before he was scheduled to be questioned in a probe into whether family members did real work while paid as parliamentary aides.
“He was charged this morning” Fillon’s lawyer Antonin Levy told Sky News. “The hearing was brought forward so that it could take place in a calm manner.”
Fillon has refused to drop out of the race despite being embroiled in a fake jobs scandal, which stems from allegations that his wife Penelope was paid almost $800,000 for work she did not do as his parliamentary assistant. He has denied any wrongdoing.
The former front-runner in the presidential race is currently in third in polls behind centrist independent Emmanuel Macron and far-right, National Front’s Marine Le Pen.
- Elliot Page: Embracing My Trans Identity Saved Me
- The 'Dopamine Detox' Is Having a Moment
- Column: How the World Must Respond to AI
- What the Debt Ceiling Deal Means for Student Loan Borrowers
- India’s Female Wrestlers Are Saying #MeToo
- 7 Ways to Get Better at Small Talk
- LGBTQ Reality TV Takes on a Painful Moment
- What NASA Can Teach SpaceX About Protecting the Environment