This archive report was first published on 20 June 2020.
June 20, 2020 - French President Emmanuel Macron has requested an investigation into claims that prosecutors were pressured to move quickly in a fraud case against former Prime Minister Francois Fillon, a key rival in the 2017 presidential election.
Fillon's 2017 presidential campaign was marred by allegations of embezzlement after a newspaper report claimed he had hired his wife, Penelope, as a parliamentary assistant and paid her hundreds of thousands of euros in public funds.
Fillon denied the allegations, stating that he was the victim of a political smear campaign. However, a former head of France's Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) has since come forward, stating that she faced pressure to bring charges against Fillon swiftly.
Fillon's supporters have seized on these comments, suggesting that the prosecutor's superiors may have exerted undue influence to expedite the case against Fillon.
The case against Fillon and his wife, Penelope, includes charges of embezzlement and abuse of public funds. Prosecutors have requested a five-year sentence for Fillon, with three years suspended, as well as a three-year suspended jail term for Penelope.
