Juppe to Come Second in First Round of French Election if Replaces Fillon - Poll

Former French Prime Minister Alain Juppe, who lost right-wing presidential nomination to Francois Fillon, would rank second in the first round of voting after far-right Marine Le Pen if he reentered the race, a fresh poll found Sunday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Kantar Sofres-OnePoint survey shows Le Pen would win 27 percent of votes, followed by Juppe with 24.5 percent and independent Immanuel Macron with 20 percent.

Le Pen, the National Front leader, is still the favorite to win the April round of voting. She is credited with 26 percent of votes, while Macron is projected to win 25 percent. Fillon, the nominee of The Republicans party, stands at 17 percent.

Fillon’s rating slipped after a French tabloid claimed he had paid huge sums of money to his wife and children for assistant jobs they did not do, allegations that he described as a political assassination.

In January, an investigation was opened following media reports on Fillon employing his wife as his parliamentary assistant, for which she was allegedly paid without performing her duties. The employment by Fillon of his children was also questioned by the media.

The center-right candidate has repeatedly denied all accusations and pressed on with his election campaign despite a dip in popularity. His party has been pressed to look for alternatives for his candidacy. Earlier on Sunday, party members said a plan of action to address the scandal would be revealed later in the day or early on Monday.

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