"
A company of appropriation
" of public money: the general prosecutor's office requested Monday, November 29, five years of imprisonment, one of which was closed, as well as a fine of 375,000 euros, against former Prime Minister François Fillon for the "
fictitious
"
employment
of his wife Penelope.
Read also François Fillon defends the "essential" local presence of his wife during her appeal trial
After nearly four hours of indictment with two votes, the advocates general considered that the former head of government should be found guilty, asking that the sentence, the firm part of which would be served under electronic bracelet , or accompanied by 10 years of ineligibility.
The public prosecutor considered that “
the fictitiousness
” of the employment as parliamentary assistant of Pénélope Fillon was “
established
” and that François Fillon, “
eminent figure in political life
”, had been “
at the initiative
” of a “
embezzlement enterprise
”. For Penelope Fillon, who “
fully adhered
” to this “
system of family enrichment
”, the magistrates requested two years of suspended imprisonment and a 100,000 euros fine, as well as two years of ineligibility. They finally requested three years in prison and five years of ineligibility against the deputy of François Fillon, Marc Joulaud.
According to the prosecution, Penelope Fillon was paid "
unduly
" as parliamentary assistant to her husband and his deputy in the Sarthe, during three contracts between 1998 and 2013, for a total remuneration of 612,000 euros net.
"Impalpable" tasks
His tasks were “
redundant
” with those of other collaborators and this job was marked by “
confidentiality
”, since it was known only to the “
inner circle
” of the couple, underlined Advocate General Bruno Revel. "
Pénélope Fillon has never presented herself as the parliamentary collaborator of her husband and Marc Joulaud
": in the constituency, "
everyone ignores (her)!"
»He continued, returning to each of the missions that the Franco-Galloise claimed to accomplish at the time.
The “
memos
” in preparation for local events? "
No trace of it has been found
." Proofreading speeches, welcoming residents at home, managing mail? So many “
intangible
”
tasks
. “
Information feedback
” from the field? An activity "
evanescent, not to say vaporous
", insisted the magistrate. "
Penelope Fillon was therefore not mistaken in the words when she told the Sunday Telegraph not to have been her husband's assistant, or something like that,
" blurted out the Advocate General, referring to an interview with the defendant dating from 2007.
Between 2002 and 2005, Penelope Fillon was hired by the deputy of François Fillon, appointed minister.
"
What an extravagant situation that that of a deputy who sees himself impose a collaborator
", ironed Bruno Revel, describing Marc Joulaud as "
the straw man
" of François Fillon, an "
employer by proxy
".
"Disguised donation"
In turn, the second lawyer general Yves Micolet described the hiring of Pénélope Fillon as a “
literary advisor
” in 2012-2013 within the
Revue des deux mondes
as a “
job of pure convenience
”, “
a kind of disguised donation
From Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, owner of the publication and close to François Fillon.
If the contracts signed by their two eldest children as a collaborator of their father senator between 2005 and 2007 also fall under a "
logic of enrichment
", the magistrate however required a partial release and a conviction only for concealment.
At the beginning of the afternoon, Yves Micolet began the indictment by defending the investigation of the National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) then the investigation carried out in the middle of the presidential campaign in 2017, responding to criticism of the defense, which requests the cancellation of the whole procedure marred, according to her, by partiality.
"
Putting the PNF on trial is an illusion to try to hide the seriousness of the facts by the defendants,
" he asserted.
"
There was no illegal interference of the judiciary in the presidential election (or) breach of the separation of powers
".
Read alsoFillon trial on appeal: the time of the interrogation for the former prime minister
The defense of François Fillon must plead in the wake.
At first instance, the former tenant of Matignon was sentenced on June 29, 2020 to five years' imprisonment, two of which were firm, a fine of 375,000 euros and ten years of ineligibility.
Penelope Fillon was given a three-year suspended prison sentence, a 375,000 euro fine and two years of ineligibility and Marc Joulaud, 54, three years suspended, a 20,000 euro suspended fine and 5 years of ineligibility .
