A French court on Monday sentenced former French prime minister and conservative presidential candidate François Fillon to five years in prison, finding him guilty of misusing state funds to put his wife into a sham job.
In 2017, Fillon was a clear favorite in the presidential election until Le Canard Enchaine published an article alleging that Fillon had fictitiously hired his wife Penelopi as an assistant deputy for years, paying her for work she did not do.
Penelope was sentenced by the court to three years’ imprisonment for participating in the scheme, which paid her more than a million euros over 15 years.
The court also fined Fijon and his wife € 375,000 each and ordered a million euros to be repaid to parliament.
Fijon is suspended for three years and sentenced to two years in prison. However, the couple has already challenged the court’s decision, which means that none of them will be detained until the appeal is heard.
Media reports of Fijon’s wife’s sham wage ruined his pre-election campaign. It was later revealed that Fijon also paid 117,000 euros from state funds to two of his children for fictitious work, while he himself held the position of a senator.
Fijon was also accused of getting his wife paid by a magazine owned by Fijon’s friend, even though the magazine’s editor had never met Penelope.
The court today also sentenced Fijon’s fellow Mark Mark to three years in prison, who also hired Penelope as his assistant.
Fijon denied the charges against him in court and said he had been the victim of a conspiracy by his political rivals. He also accused the court of bias.
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