Fillon Confirms Plans to Continue Presidential Race Despite Scandal Around Wife

Francois Fillon said his withdrawal from the presidential race would leave France without a "reliable" candidate and lead to a regime crisis.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Republicans' candidate Francois Fillon confirmed in an interview with the Le journal du Dimanche on Sunday the decision to continue his presidential campaign despite the ongoing scandal related to his wife's allegedly fake parliament job.

“This [the National Front party, the risk of The Republicans' lack of majority in parliament] is what led me to the decision to go until the end. This decision was not easy … Of course I assessed the situation, I did not decide that in the heat of the moment,” Fillon told the newspaper, referring to his decision to remain in the presidential race.

His withdrawal from the race would leave the French nation without a “reliable” candidate, leading to a regime crisis, Fillon added.

Fillon’s wife Penelope is most likely to be made accountable by the French prosecution for a fake job, the newspaper reported, citing a source.

The scandal broke out in late January around Fillon’s wife allegedly having been paid from state funds for parliamentary assistant jobs, without exercising her duties. French media has also questioned Fillon's children's employment as his parliamentary assistants between 2005 and 2007.

Fillon had been a leader of the race after The Republicans' primaries, with about 30 percent of all voters supporting him, but his image has been damaged by the fraud scandal.

The first round of the French presidential election is slated for April 23, with the run-off scheduled for May 7.