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| Francois Fillon, former French prime minister, member of the Republicans political party and 2017 presidential election candidate of the French centre-right, arrives at the local police station of Meaux |
Conservative French presidential candidate Francois Fillon abruptly postponed a high-profile campaign event on Wednesday and a newspaper reported he had been summoned by magistrates investigating allegations over payments to his wife.
Fillon‘s campaign team was silent on the reasons for his last-minute decision to delay his visit to the annual Paris agricultural fair, viewed as an essential campaign stop for presidential candidates, but said he would make a statement at midday (1100 GMT).
The Journal du Dimanche newspaper reported on its website that the 62 year-old had been called in by magistrates investigating allegations he paid family members for fake parliamentary jobs.
Fillon‘s lawyer could not confirm any such move.
The allegations, dating back to January, plunged Fillon‘s campaign into crisis and cost him his status as favourite to win the presidency in the two-round election on April 23 and May 7.
The investigation has unnerved investors who fear Fillon‘s campaign woes have handed the anti-euro, anti-immigration Marine Le Pen of the National Front a higher chance of winning the presidency.
Fillon faces a full judicial inquiry into the so-called “Penelopegate” affair, named after his wife.
The country’s financial prosecutor named the investigating magistrates last week to lead a deeper probe.
The postponed visit to the farm show caused a sensation among journalists who had already gathered to cover his arrival and caught some of his own team by surprise.
Fillon has denied wrongdoing, and says his wife was paid hundreds of thousands of euros for genuine work as his parliamentary assistant, though he has acknowledged giving her the work was an error of judgement.
Fillon – who has long cultivated an image of probity and criticised people for taking government handouts – has been heckled for weeks by protesters at campaign outings.
He faced down a rebellion by nervous lawmakers in his centre-right party last month, saying that his withdrawal from the race would lead to the implosion of the party.
Opinion polls show Le Pen leading a fragmented field in the first round but losing to independent centrist Emmanuel Macron in a second round run-off. Macron has been favourite to win the presidency since the Fillon scandal broke on Jan 25.
An Ifop Fiducial Poll released on Tuesday showed Le Pen winning 25.5 per cent of the votes in first round, ahead of Macron on 24 per cent and Fillon on 20.5 per cent.
