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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, attends a political rally in Nimes, France March 2, 2017 |
A planned demonstration in support of Francois Fillon will be an โimportant momentโ in Franceโs presidential race, a lawmaker backing the scandal-hit candidate said, and will go ahead on Sunday in defiance of the sitting presidentโs wishes.
Fillon this week promised to fight โto the endโ despite a deepening financial scandal that he said will see him placed under formal investigation later this month. He complained of judicial and media bias that amounted to a โpolitical assassinationโ.
The former prime ministerโs attacks have drawn criticism from President Francois Hollande who said late on Thursday that the rally near a central Paris square dedicated to human rights should not go ahead.
โYou will see there will be tens of thousands,โ said conservative senator Bruno Retailleau on Europe 1 radio. โSunday will be an important date, an important moment.โ
Allegations that Fillon paid his wife hundreds of thousands of euros in taxpayersโ money for work she may not have done have damaged his reputation as an honest politician and blown the one-time election favouriteโs campaign badly off course.
Opinion polls show far-right leader Marine Le Pen and independent centrist challenger Emmanuel Macron as the frontrunners, with the former investment banker and ex-economy minister favourite to win a runoff vote.
Fillon this week repeated his denials of wrongdoing and has stepped up his attacks against the judiciary.
โI have been singled out by the judicial system. Itโs as if I had to be brought down at all costs,โ he said in an interview with the newspaper Midi Libre on Thursday.
His attacks and sliding popularity have caused some of his key supporters to abandon his campaign.
Hollande, on a visit to Corsica on Thursday, called for responsibility from the Fillon camp and the demonstration to be called off.
โWe canโt have demonstrations in our country, in our Republic, that question our institutions, the work of the judiciary or of the police in the course of an inquiry,โ the president said.
The demonstration was organised after Fillon revealed he would be put under formal investigation, but organisers have since said it is in support of his candidacy and is not an attack on the judiciary.
