François Fillon, French Presidential Candidate, Is Charged With Embezzlement<br />Mr. Fillon had been summoned by investigative judges for Wednesday, but his lawyer said Tuesday<br />that he had asked that Mr. Fillon meet with them a day earlier to avoid a large news media stakeout.<br />Mr. Fillon’s lawyer said the son was repaying rent and "pocket money." Mr. Fillon’s opponents have been frustrated<br />that the scandal has dominated coverage of the campaign, drowning out all but the best-known candidates, and that Mr. Fillon did not keep his promise to drop out.<br />By AURELIEN BREEDENMARCH 14, 2017<br />PARIS — The French center-right presidential candidate François Fillon was charged with several counts<br />of embezzlement on Tuesday, further hobbling a campaign that he has nonetheless said he will continue.<br />The newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, which first published the reports, added on Sunday<br />that an anonymous benefactor paid in February for two suits worth about $13,800 for Mr. Fillon, prompting Parliament’s ethics ombudsman to open an inquiry.<br />On Monday, for example, Le Parisien reported that the son and daughter Mr. Fillon hired as aides transferred large sums to him during<br />that time, furthering suspicions that their jobs and Ms. Fillon’s were enrichment schemes.<br />Since the first revelations, polls have shown Mr. Fillon likely to be eliminated in a first round on April 23.<br />Since then, although Mr. Fillon, 63, has stabilized his standing in the polls, new revelations<br />in the news media of possible financial shenanigans have kept him down.
