Former prosecutor in Francois Peon's trial, who was the Conservative candidate in the presidential election and was expected to win forever, revealed that she was under heavy pressure and close scrutiny by Socialist party members • Peon had to retire because of the investigation, which now casts a heavy shadow on the motives behind it

• Former plaintiff in the Peyon investigation

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  Screenshot from lefigaro

A dramatic development in Francois Peillon's political "liquidation" affair, which was the leading candidate in the Conservative Republican Party's recent French presidential election, and retired from the presidential race after being revealed to have employed his wife and children at state expense.

The former prosecutor who was responsible for investigating the corruption case attributed to Pion, Elian Ault, testified before a parliamentary commission of inquiry into the independence of the French judiciary. Ault claimed to have been under heavy pressure and close scrutiny by then Socialist government representatives around the investigation into Pion's case, in the midst of the presidential election campaign.

According to all the polls at that time, just three months before the presidential election, Pion led a wide gap over the other contenders, including Emmanuel Macron, who was considered close to former French president, Socialist Francois Hollande. According to a report in the French newspaper La Puyen, Ault said in her testimony to members of the parliamentary committee that she received incessant inquiries from socialist officials who urged her to advance the inquiry into Peyon so that the results of the inquiry could be published.

She said many inquiries from the general prosecution had been dropped in "amazing" detail. She also claimed that she was forbidden to ask about the use of the information she was passing on. According to her testimony, she was summoned to the Attorney General's Office in February 2017, just three months before the election, and was instructed to initiate a formal investigation into Peyon against all procedures.

She said she objected to this by saying that more evidence had to be gathered. But about ten days after that meeting, she succumbed to pressure and ordered the formal investigation to be opened. In doing so, it paved the way for the elimination of Pion's candidacy for the presidency and for a complete change in the political balance of power in the election campaign. Fion claimed at the time that he was a victim of a political impeachment campaign. After revealing the details of his relatives' employment, he made it clear that this was a common practice among French politicians and that there was no procedure or law prohibiting it.

The procedures in the matter were changed after the Pion affair was revealed. Peyon's party responded to the former prosecutor's statements that the allegations were extremely serious. The populist right-wing leader, Marin Le Pen, who also managed to reach the second round of presidential elections against Emanuel Macron thanks to the targeted elimination of Pion's candidacy for the socialists, attacked the French legal apparatus.

While claiming to be persecuted by the judiciary in her country, she said: "To think that when we condemn the legalization of the legal system (by the politicians) they say we are propagating conspiracy theories. The truth is beginning to emerge and that is just the tip of the iceberg. "