He reappeared with a hazy look, a strangely hoarse voice, a slow verb. François Fillon made his media comeback this Thursday evening on the occasion of a program which was specially dedicated to him, on France 2. Him the former Prime Minister, the ex-candidate defeated in the presidential election of 2017 and, above all, the future accused of a trial to be held in late February before the Paris Criminal Court. Fillon will have to answer before the judges for the allegedly fictitious employment of his wife Penelope, whom he has employed for years.
"I will not try to return"
But before the judges, the ex-elected Sarthois had at heart to speak and speak his "truth" before the French. Justifying his presence, François Fillon explained that he did not want his political career, his years as minister, then Prime Minister, to be overshadowed by the 2017 campaign.
"I can't let it all go behind this trial. I owe explanations to the 7 million French people who supported me, "he said at the start of the broadcast. While stating that he had no desire to return to politics: "I will not seek to return".
"I made the mistake of attacking Nicolas Sarkozy"
On the charges of fictitious employment of his wife, he did not move an iota, rejecting this accusation and affirming that "his honor was shredded in this business". And to denounce once again the "exceptional procedure, against him" of which he was the victim. Even if it means taking on conspiratorial overtones. "I started by winning (primary on the right, note) very powerful forces, probably because I was not an expected candidate," he said strangely in front of the journalists of France 2.
During the broadcast, François Fillon will concede only one or two regrets, including the famous sentence pronounced during the primary of the right: "Do we imagine General de Gaulle indicted? ". "I made the mistake of attacking Nicolas Sarkozy with this sentence", he conceded, just as he recognized "the mistake of accepting costumes that I should not have accepted". Overwhelmed by the accusations, of the alleged fictitious employment in the scandal of the costumes offered by Robert Bourgi, shouldn't Fillon have resigned? Right in his boots, swept him away from this possibility, saying that it would have been impossible for an alternative to set up so late (early March, editor's note) in the campaign… contrary to what many executives Les Républicains still claim today 'hui. We will not remake history, and time will not reconcile the points of view of a family, on this point, always torn apart.
Macron goes "in the right direction"
Since this umpteenth defeat of the right, The Republicans have struggled to get their heads out of the water, caught between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen. François Fillon estimated Thursday evening on France 2 that he thought that his family could however "get up". "For that, she must have a project. The question is not men, it is the project, "he insisted, recalling all the same his" very close proximity "with the boss of senators LR, - his friend, Bruno Retailleau.
A good point distributed to his former campaign manager ... but also, surprisingly, to Emmanuel Macron. “The president has been elected, he is implementing his program and I hope he will succeed. […] I would have made stronger and faster, but many of these measures are a step in the right direction, ”said the former Prime Minister. Enough to make faces on the side of the Republicans
His strong reply, that of a wounded pride, François Fillon then passed out as he returned. Next reappearance scheduled for February 24, no longer on TV, but on the occasion of his trial.