French presidential candidate says will be charged but stay in campaign

pulse

March 1, 2017 3:01 PM

Fillon said he would meet investigating magistrates on March 15 but denied all the allegations against him.

French presidential candidate Francois Fillon addresses a press conference in Paris on March 1, 2017

French presidential candidate Francois Fillon said Wednesday he will not pull out of the campaign despite admitting he is to be charged over allegations he paid his wife and children for fake jobs.

Fillon, a conservative, said he would meet investigating magistrates on March 15 but denied all the allegations against him and reiterated that his family had "assisted" him during his political career.

"From the start, I have not been treated like anyone else facing the justice system," Fillon said in a statement to reporters, claiming he was the victim of a "political assassination".

"It's not just me they are killing, but the French presidential election," he said.

Fillon had earlier led the race ahead of the elections in April and May but the allegations had cost him support and he has fallen behind far-right leader Marine Le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron.

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