Beleaguered France&#39;s Republicans candidate Francois Fillon received a shot in the arm after his likely replacement ruled himself out, citing that the elections were merely weeks away for him to mobilise an election campaign.

Former prime minister Alain Juppe, who is popular with the voters, said Monday:&nbsp;&quot;I confirm for a final time that I will not be a candidate to be president of the republic.&quot;

Francois Fillon was once the favourite to be the next president but his campaign got embroiled in the ugly &quot;fake job&quot; scandal.

Fillon has been accused of paying thousands of euros to his British-born wife Penelope for performing a fake parliamentary job.

But Juppe&#39;s withdrawal from a potential presidential campaign has almost calcified Fillon&#39;s status as the Republicans torchbearer in the upcoming French runoffs.

Juppe&#39;s statement emboldened Fillon to ask his party to rally around him.

&quot;It is time for everybody to get their act together and come back to their senses,&quot; he told senior party members gathered to discuss the crisis, according to a text.

Fillon has been excoriated by his party members and some 250 insiders had called for his head as chances of even progressing to the second round of the presidential bid are bleak now.&nbsp;

Party leaders met for crisis talks on Monday evening, with allies of ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy still pushing&nbsp;Fillon&nbsp;to step aside and name a replacement.

&quot;He&#39;s got some breathing space but he needs to ask himself if he can still win the presidential election,&quot; one lawmaker known to be close to Sarkozy told AFP on condition of anonymity.&nbsp;

But later, the party said it would support Fillon&#39;s presidential campaign.

&quot;The political committee, after a wide-ranging exchange, unanimously renewed its support for Francois Fillon,&quot; Senate speaker Gerard Larcher told reporters after around 20 party seniors met to &quot;evaluate&quot; the crisis sparked by the fake jobs scandal clouding Fillon&#39;s campaign.

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 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 and Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union, analysts caution against bold predictions.

(WION with inputs from agencies)

Alan Juppe, who was likely to replace scandal-hit Fillon, said contesting the election made no sense due to paucity of time

Beleaguered France's Republicans candidate Francois Fillon received a shot in the arm after his likely replacement ruled himself out, citing that the elections were merely weeks away for him to mobilise an election campaign. Former prime minister Alain Juppe, who is popular with the voters, said Monday: "I confirm for a final time that I will not be a candidate to be president of the republic." Francois Fillon was once the favourite to be the next president but his campaign got embroiled in the ugly "fake job" scandal. Fillon has been accused of paying thousands of euros to his British-born wife Penelope for performing a fake parliamentary job. But Juppe's withdrawal from a potential presidential campaign has almost calcified Fillon's status as the Republicans torchbearer in the upcoming French runoffs. Juppe's statement emboldened Fillon to ask his party to rally around him. "It is time for everybody to get their act together and come back to their senses," he told senior party members gathered to discuss the crisis, according to a text. Fillon has been excoriated by his party members and some 250 insiders had called for his head as chances of even progressing to the second round of the presidential bid are bleak now. Party leaders met for crisis talks on Monday evening, with allies of ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy still pushing Fillon to step aside and name a replacement. "He's got some breathing space but he needs to ask himself if he can still win the presidential election," one lawmaker known to be close to Sarkozy told AFP on condition of anonymity. But later, the party said it would support Fillon's presidential campaign. "The political committee, after a wide-ranging exchange, unanimously renewed its support for Francois Fillon," Senate speaker Gerard Larcher told reporters after around 20 party seniors met to "evaluate" the crisis sparked by the fake jobs scandal clouding Fillon's campaign. 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 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 and Britain's vote to leave the European Union, analysts caution against bold predictions. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Fillon's French presidential bid gets fillip after replacement rules himself out

French presidential candidate Francois Fillon faced fresh setbacks to his beleaguered campaign on Friday as his spokesman stepped down and a small centrist party decided to withdraw its support.

Patrick Stefanini said his resignation will take effect from Sunday night.

Fillon is also feeling the heat from former prime minister Alain Juppe, who has announced he is ready to replace the scandal-hit presidential candidate in the upcoming runoffs.

The 71-year-old Juppe, also an ex-premier and a one-time foreign minister, was beaten by Fillon in the conservative primary in November after beginning the contest as a clear favourite.

Fillon&#39;s initial momentum evaporated after allegations of him paying his wife Penelope hundreds of thousands of euros for a fake job came out in public.

He has also been accused of helping his children while he was in the government.

Fillon, 63, said earlier this week that he would be charged over the damning allegations.

Juppe sets conditions&nbsp;

With the March 17 deadline for the collection of signatures necessary to launch a candidacy fast approaching, a member of Juppe&#39;s entourage told AFP he was prepared to take over -- under certain conditions.

Juppe &quot;will not refuse if all the conditions are met -- Francois Fillon has to take the decision to pull out himself and the rightwing and centre camps... have to be united behind him&quot;, the unnamed source said.

The leader of the centrist UDI party said it was definitively withdrawing its support for Fillon after it suspended its backing on Wednesday.

&quot;We ask the Republicans (Fillon&#39;s party) to change candidate and if they do not, we will not be able to continue our alliance,&quot; UDI leader Jean-Christophe Lagarde told Ouest France newspaper.

The resignation of Fillon&#39;s spokesman Thierry Solere meant he joined a list of defectors who include two deputy directors, the campaign treasurer and foreign affairs point man Bruno Le Maire.

Juppe to save conservatives?&nbsp;

One opinion poll Friday showed that Juppe -- who is viewed as more centrist than Fillon -- would go straight into the lead if he took over.

Juppe would have 26.5 percent of votes, giving him a narrow lead over Macron on 25 percent, while Le Pen would slip to third place on 24 percent, according to the Odoxa-Dentsu Consulting poll of 943 people.

Since his defeat in the primary, Juppe has stayed out of the fray and ventured rarely from the southwest city of Bordeaux where he is mayor.

He has made a political comeback after being given a suspended 14-month jail sentence in 2004 over a party funding scandal.

Fillon, whose Paris home was raided by police on Thursday, is going ahead with plans to hold a rally near the Eiffel Tower on Sunday.

In an online video message urging supporters to attend, he said only he could &quot;restore France&#39;s strength&quot;.

Fillon&#39;s headline policy is a pledge to slash half a million civil servants&#39; jobs to cut public spending.

Le Pen, campaigning on an anti-immigration and anti-EU platform, has for months been forecast to reach the second round of an election influenced by the same populist themes that propelled US President&nbsp;Donald&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;to power and led to the Brexit vote in Britain.

Polls currently show however that Le Pen will be beaten in the decisive runoff on May 7 by either the fast-rising Macron or the conservative candidate.

The right&#39;s fear&nbsp;

The fear for the right is that Fillon will fail to reach the runoff.

Fillon has hit out at the justice system, claiming he was the victim of a &quot;political assassination&quot; over the fake jobs allegations that were first made by the Canard Enchaine newspaper.

Investigators are probing what work Fillon&#39;s wife Penelope actually performed for her pay. He insists she has &quot;always&quot; assisted him during his lengthy political career and has strongly denied any wrongdoing.

A source close to Juppe told Le Parisien newspaper on Friday that the veteran politician &quot;felt ill&quot; when he heard Fillon questioning the impartiality of judges.

Socialist President Francois Hollande also lashed out at Fillon this week, saying being a presidential candidate did not give him the right to &quot;cast suspicion on the work of the police and judges&quot;.

(WION with inputs from AFP)

Fillon's spokesman quit and the leader of a small centrist party confirmed it was withdrawing its backing over an expenses scandal

French presidential candidate Francois Fillon faced fresh setbacks to his beleaguered campaign on Friday as his spokesman stepped down and a small centrist party decided to withdraw its support. Patrick Stefanini said his resignation will take effect from Sunday night. Fillon is also feeling the heat from former prime minister Alain Juppe, who has announced he is ready to replace the scandal-hit presidential candidate in the upcoming runoffs. The 71-year-old Juppe, also an ex-premier and a one-time foreign minister, was beaten by Fillon in the conservative primary in November after beginning the contest as a clear favourite. Fillon's initial momentum evaporated after allegations of him paying his wife Penelope hundreds of thousands of euros for a fake job came out in public. He has also been accused of helping his children while he was in the government. Fillon, 63, said earlier this week that he would be charged over the damning allegations. Juppe sets conditions With the March 17 deadline for the collection of signatures necessary to launch a candidacy fast approaching, a member of Juppe's entourage told AFP he was prepared to take over -- under certain conditions. Juppe "will not refuse if all the conditions are met -- Francois Fillon has to take the decision to pull out himself and the rightwing and centre camps... have to be united behind him", the unnamed source said. The leader of the centrist UDI party said it was definitively withdrawing its support for Fillon after it suspended its backing on Wednesday. "We ask the Republicans (Fillon's party) to change candidate and if they do not, we will not be able to continue our alliance," UDI leader Jean-Christophe Lagarde told Ouest France newspaper. The resignation of Fillon's spokesman Thierry Solere meant he joined a list of defectors who include two deputy directors, the campaign treasurer and foreign affairs point man Bruno Le Maire. Juppe to save conservatives? One opinion poll Friday showed that Juppe -- who is viewed as more centrist than Fillon -- would go straight into the lead if he took over. Juppe would have 26.5 percent of votes, giving him a narrow lead over Macron on 25 percent, while Le Pen would slip to third place on 24 percent, according to the Odoxa-Dentsu Consulting poll of 943 people. Since his defeat in the primary, Juppe has stayed out of the fray and ventured rarely from the southwest city of Bordeaux where he is mayor. He has made a political comeback after being given a suspended 14-month jail sentence in 2004 over a party funding scandal. Fillon, whose Paris home was raided by police on Thursday, is going ahead with plans to hold a rally near the Eiffel Tower on Sunday. In an online video message urging supporters to attend, he said only he could "restore France's strength". Fillon's headline policy is a pledge to slash half a million civil servants' jobs to cut public spending. Le Pen, campaigning on an anti-immigration and anti-EU platform, has for months been forecast to reach the second round of an election influenced by the same populist themes that propelled US President Donald Trump to power and led to the Brexit vote in Britain. Polls currently show however that Le Pen will be beaten in the decisive runoff on May 7 by either the fast-rising Macron or the conservative candidate. The right's fear The fear for the right is that Fillon will fail to reach the runoff. Fillon has hit out at the justice system, claiming he was the victim of a "political assassination" over the fake jobs allegations that were first made by the Canard Enchaine newspaper. Investigators are probing what work Fillon's wife Penelope actually performed for her pay. He insists she has "always" assisted him during his lengthy political career and has strongly denied any wrongdoing. A source close to Juppe told Le Parisien newspaper on Friday that the veteran politician "felt ill" when he heard Fillon questioning the impartiality of judges. Socialist President Francois Hollande also lashed out at Fillon this week, saying being a presidential candidate did not give him the right to "cast suspicion on the work of the police and judges". (WION with inputs from AFP)

French elections: Fillon suffers setback as Juppe remains on standby

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