France&#39;s rightwing presidential candidate Francois&nbsp;Fillon&nbsp;was charged Tuesday with several offences over a fake jobs scandal, including misuse of public funds, his lawyer said.

&quot;He was charged this morning. The hearing was brought forward so that it could take place in a calm manner,&quot; lawyer Antonin Levy told AFP.

He was also charged with misuse of corporate assets, Levy said.

Fillon, 63, had been expected to go before investigating magistrates on Wednesday over the scandal, which has undermined his campaign for the presidency only six weeks from the first round of the election.

Following revelations in the Canard Enchaine newspaper at the end of January, the conservative candidate admitted to employing his wife Penelope and two of their children as parliamentary assistants, but has denied any wrongdoing.&nbsp;

Penelope was paid hundreds of thousands of euros (dollars) from public funds between 1986 and 2013, but she is accused of doing little work for the salary.&nbsp;

From May 2012 to December 2013, while employed at the parliament, Penelope was also paid 3,500 euros ($3,700) a month by a magazine owned by a friend of&nbsp;Fillon, the tycoon Marc Ladreit de Lacharriere.

After initially saying he would withdraw from the presidential race if charged,&nbsp;Fillon&nbsp;has vowed to continue, calling the investigation an attempted &quot;political assassination&quot;.&nbsp;

Defies calls to step aside&nbsp;

He has defied calls to step aside from colleagues in his Republicans party and has weathered a flurry of resignations from his campaign team, while the scandal has made an already unpredictable election even harder to call.&nbsp;

The disarray appears to have benefited centrist, pro-business candidate Emmanuel Macron in particular, as well as far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who are shown in opinion polls to be the likely top two candidates in the first round of voting on April 23.

Polls suggest 39-year-old Macron would beat Le Pen in the decisive second round on May 7 -- but after Donald Trump&#39;s victory in the United States and Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union, analysts caution against bold predictions.

Fillon, a devout Catholic, was the surprise winner of the Republicans&#39; primary in November after campaigning as a clean and honest candidate who would transform France with a &quot;radical&quot; economic programme.

He wants to cut public spending by 100 billion euros and cut 500,000 public sector jobs over the next five years.

He was the frontrunner in the presidential race before the scandal hit in late January, but is now shown in third place and eliminated in the first round.

(AFP)

French presidential candidate Francois Fillon has been accused of using state money to give jobs to his wife & children

France's rightwing presidential candidate Francois Fillon was charged Tuesday with several offences over a fake jobs scandal, including misuse of public funds, his lawyer said. "He was charged this morning. The hearing was brought forward so that it could take place in a calm manner," lawyer Antonin Levy told AFP. He was also charged with misuse of corporate assets, Levy said. Fillon, 63, had been expected to go before investigating magistrates on Wednesday over the scandal, which has undermined his campaign for the presidency only six weeks from the first round of the election. Following revelations in the Canard Enchaine newspaper at the end of January, the conservative candidate admitted to employing his wife Penelope and two of their children as parliamentary assistants, but has denied any wrongdoing. Penelope was paid hundreds of thousands of euros (dollars) from public funds between 1986 and 2013, but she is accused of doing little work for the salary. From May 2012 to December 2013, while employed at the parliament, Penelope was also paid 3,500 euros ($3,700) a month by a magazine owned by a friend of Fillon, the tycoon Marc Ladreit de Lacharriere. After initially saying he would withdraw from the presidential race if charged, Fillon has vowed to continue, calling the investigation an attempted "political assassination". Defies calls to step aside He has defied calls to step aside from colleagues in his Republicans party and has weathered a flurry of resignations from his campaign team, while the scandal has made an already unpredictable election even harder to call. The disarray appears to have benefited centrist, pro-business candidate Emmanuel Macron in particular, as well as far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who are shown in opinion polls to be the likely top two candidates in the first round of voting on April 23. Polls suggest 39-year-old Macron would beat Le Pen in the decisive second round on May 7 -- but after Donald Trump's victory in the United States and Britain's vote to leave the European Union, analysts caution against bold predictions. Fillon, a devout Catholic, was the surprise winner of the Republicans' primary in November after campaigning as a clean and honest candidate who would transform France with a "radical" economic programme. He wants to cut public spending by 100 billion euros and cut 500,000 public sector jobs over the next five years. He was the frontrunner in the presidential race before the scandal hit in late January, but is now shown in third place and eliminated in the first round. (AFP)

France's Fillon charged for misuse of public funds: Lawyer

Francois Fillon, favourite to win France&#39;s presidential election until he was hit by allegations of financial impropriety, sought on Monday to revive a faltering campaign, but found himself on the defensive again, this time over gifts of expensive suits.

The 63-year-old former prime minister, already hit by graver accusations that he paid his wife and children lavish amounts of public funds for little work, launched a media offensive to promote an economic programme based on drastic public spending cuts.

He has already slipped from first to third place in opinion polls, a ranking that would see him knocked out in round one of the ballot on April 23 in favour of far-right leader Marine Le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron, current favourite in polls.&nbsp;

Fillon&#39;s latest offensive consisted of radio and newspaper interviews followed by a news conference where he detailed how he planned to slash public spending by 100 billion euros ($107 billion) over five years and cut 500,000 public sector jobs.&nbsp;

&quot;Over the first three months, I would launch the budget amendments that would include the most important fiscal measures of the term,&quot; Fillon said in an interview in Les Echos newspaper.

&quot;I will also put to a vote major social reforms, such as the abolition of the 35-hour working week&quot;.

Once again, however, Fillon&#39;s attempts to revive a flagging campaign were troubled by potentially damaging stories of high living that sit awkwardly with his claim at his party&#39;s primary last November to be beyond reproach ethically.&nbsp;

A newspaper at the weekend said he had received close to 50,000 euros worth of suits and clothing since 2012, gifts that, if not illegal, come on the back of more serious allegations of impropriety.

While seeking to refocus media coverage on policy and the details of his programme, Fillon faced yet more questions from journalists about his personal conduct.

&quot;I cannot see this as anything other than a manhunt,&quot; he told Europe 1 radio.&nbsp;

He has already accused the media and the justice system of bias and fought to keep fellow conservatives on his side after press allegations in January that he paid his wife Penelope and two of his children hundreds of thousands of euros of taxpayers&#39; money for small-time assistance work such as opening his mail.

He insists he did nothing illegal and that he is the victim of politically motivated reports designed to destroy his bid for power after five years of Socialist Francois Hollande.

Fillon did not deny the latest media report, published by the Journal du Dimanche newspaper on Sunday evening, but said the story of expensive suits was proof of a slur campaign.

Monday&#39;s media offensive comes two days before Fillon is to meet judicial magistrates investigating the money paid to his wife Penelope and children.

He has said himself the magistrates are likely to put him officially under investigation on counts of suspected impropriety but, contrary to what he initially announced, has said he will not drop out of the race if that happens.

(AFP)

A newspaper report said embattled Fillon has received close to 50,000 euros worth of suits and clothing since 2012

Francois Fillon, favourite to win France's presidential election until he was hit by allegations of financial impropriety, sought on Monday to revive a faltering campaign, but found himself on the defensive again, this time over gifts of expensive suits. The 63-year-old former prime minister, already hit by graver accusations that he paid his wife and children lavish amounts of public funds for little work, launched a media offensive to promote an economic programme based on drastic public spending cuts. He has already slipped from first to third place in opinion polls, a ranking that would see him knocked out in round one of the ballot on April 23 in favour of far-right leader Marine Le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron, current favourite in polls. Fillon's latest offensive consisted of radio and newspaper interviews followed by a news conference where he detailed how he planned to slash public spending by 100 billion euros ($107 billion) over five years and cut 500,000 public sector jobs. "Over the first three months, I would launch the budget amendments that would include the most important fiscal measures of the term," Fillon said in an interview in Les Echos newspaper. "I will also put to a vote major social reforms, such as the abolition of the 35-hour working week". Once again, however, Fillon's attempts to revive a flagging campaign were troubled by potentially damaging stories of high living that sit awkwardly with his claim at his party's primary last November to be beyond reproach ethically. A newspaper at the weekend said he had received close to 50,000 euros worth of suits and clothing since 2012, gifts that, if not illegal, come on the back of more serious allegations of impropriety. While seeking to refocus media coverage on policy and the details of his programme, Fillon faced yet more questions from journalists about his personal conduct. "I cannot see this as anything other than a manhunt," he told Europe 1 radio. He has already accused the media and the justice system of bias and fought to keep fellow conservatives on his side after press allegations in January that he paid his wife Penelope and two of his children hundreds of thousands of euros of taxpayers' money for small-time assistance work such as opening his mail. He insists he did nothing illegal and that he is the victim of politically motivated reports designed to destroy his bid for power after five years of Socialist Francois Hollande. Fillon did not deny the latest media report, published by the Journal du Dimanche newspaper on Sunday evening, but said the story of expensive suits was proof of a slur campaign. Monday's media offensive comes two days before Fillon is to meet judicial magistrates investigating the money paid to his wife Penelope and children. He has said himself the magistrates are likely to put him officially under investigation on counts of suspected impropriety but, contrary to what he initially announced, has said he will not drop out of the race if that happens. (AFP)

Fillon's revived presidential bid stymied by luxury gifts claim

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France's Fillon charged for misuse of public funds: Lawyer

Fillon's revived presidential bid stymied by luxury gifts claim