Francois Fillon, member of the Republicans political party and 2017 French presidential election candidate of the French centre-right, reacts as he delivers a speech at his campaign headquarters in Paris after early results in the first round of 2017 French presidential election, France. PHOTO:REUTERS/File
At one stage the clear favourite to win the Elysee Palace keys, Fillon's campaign was plunged into crisis when a satirical weekly reported Penelope had been paid hundreds of thousands of euros for doing little work, including several years as his parliamentary assistant.
Pressure grows on France's Fillon to pull out of race as MPs break ranks
Fillon, 65, also paid two of their children for work as lawyers when he was a senator between 2005 and 2007. Fillon's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At the time, Fillon denounced what he called a dirty tricks campaign and denied having done anything illegal, though he admitted an error of judgement.
A consummate political insider and former prime minister during Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency, Fillon resisted pressure from inside his party to pull out of the race and was eliminated in the first round of the election. President Emmanuel Macron went on to beat far-right leader Marine Le Pen in the run-off.
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