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Suspicion of fictitious jobs: François Fillon and his wife back in court

2021-11-15T05:10:19.539Z


The former prime minister is on appeal from Monday alongside his wife Penelope and his former deputy Marc Joulaud in the case that undermined his presidential campaign in 2017.


François Fillon back to the bar: the former prime minister is on appeal from this Monday alongside his wife and his former deputy in the case of suspicion of fictitious jobs which had undermined his presidential campaign in 2017 This second trial is held almost a year and a half after the conviction of the former tenant of Matignon, for embezzlement of public funds in particular, to five years' imprisonment, two of which is closed, a fine of 375,000 euros and ten years of imprisonment. 'ineligibility. He immediately appealed.

While a new presidential election is being prepared, the Paris Court of Appeal examines until November 30 a case which remains synonymous with a political shipwreck.

From the first revelations of the

Chained Duck

in January 2017, justice had seized and the candidate Fillon, herald of integrity and favorite of the polls, had been indicted six weeks before the first round, from which he was finally eliminated. .

To read also François Fillon: "If I had been able to open the door during the flight, I would have thrown myself into the void"

Now 67 years old and retired, François Fillon will again have to explain his wife Penelope's three contracts as parliamentary assistant, signed by him and by the one who was then his deputy in Sarthe, Marc Joulaud, between 1998 and 2013. Services remunerated 613,000 euros net, “

fictitious or overvalued

” according to the prosecution, for whom the activities of Penelope Fillon fell under the “

social role

” of a “

spouse of a politician

”, but not of a collaborator. The work of Penelope Fillon was certainly "

discreet

" but decisive, has always claimed her husband, who affirms in particular that she managed his mail and reread speeches.

The Fillon couple is also tried for the employment of their two children as parliamentary assistant to their father senator between 2005 and 2007, as well as for the contract of Penelope Fillon as "

literary advisor

" in 2012 and 2013 at the

Revue des two worlds

, property of Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière.

Friend of François Fillon, the latter recognized, in a separate procedure, a partly fictitious job and he was convicted in 2018 for abuse of corporate assets.

François Fillon is finally on trial for having failed to declare to the High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life (HATVP) a loan of 50,000 euros - he was released at first instance.

"

Assistance

"

The stake of this trial on appeal is that "

the innocence

" of François Fillon "

and that of his wife are finally recognized

", summarized with AFP the lawyer of François Fillon, Me Antonin Lévy.

At first instance, Penelope Fillon was sentenced to three years in prison, a fine of 375,000 euros and two years of ineligibility.

Marc Joulaud was given three years of suspended imprisonment, a 20,000 euros suspended fine and five years of ineligibility.

Both also appealed.

Read alsoFor François Fillon, France is facing "a social crisis" and "a long-lasting war"

"

The assistance

" of the 66-year-old Franco-Welsh "

corresponded exactly to what Marc Joulaud needed to best exercise the mandate of deputy to François Fillon, while the latter exercised in Paris the responsibilities of minister

", assured to AFP the lawyer of Marc Joulaud, Me Jean Veil. The National Assembly, civil party, had obtained more than one million euros in damages: it will also be represented in appeal.

The defense, which from the outset has criticized an investigation "

to charge

", also intends to evoke during the appeal debates a controversy that arose a few days before the delivery of the first instance judgment - the lawyers had requested, in vain, a postponement. of the decision.

The former head of the National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF), Éliane Houlette, then spoke in a parliamentary committee of

hierarchical

"

pressure

" in this case, which had provoked an outcry.

The magistrate then regretted that her words were "

distorted or misunderstood

".

To read also For Julien Aubert, "if Dupont-Aignan had brought his 4% to François Fillon, history would have been changed"

The Head of State Emmanuel Macron had at the time seized the Superior Council of the Magistracy (CSM) which has since concluded, in September 2020, that the justice functioned "

independently

" in this extraordinary case, while advocating a reform to remove any suspicion of bias in the future.

In September 2021, the press revealed that a second investigation targeting François Fillon had been opened in 2017, concerning the employment conditions of another parliamentary assistant, the writer Maël Renouard, between 2013 and 2015. These investigations are still ongoing In progress.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2021-11-15

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