Fillon was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, three of which were suspended. In addition, he could not hold public office for 10 years and was obliged to donate over a million euros to the French Parliament.
The court rejected the defense’s request to hear her arguments again because of pressure during the investigation. The former prime minister’s and his wife’s lawyer has already announced that he will appeal.
The scandal that shook the presidential campaign
Investigators found, after more than two years of investigation, that Penelope Fillon was fictitiously employed by her husband as an assistant in French parliament in the years 1998-2013.
Similar allegations of fictitious employment also concerned two Fillon children who received remuneration for working as lawyers when starts he was a senator in the years 2005-2007.
Fillon was the right-wing Republican candidate in the 2017 presidential election and a favorite to win. The media’s disclosure of fictitious hiring of a wife sparked an affair (called “Penelopegate”) that buried the chances Fillona to the Elysee Palace. In the end, he did not even make it to the second round – he was only 3rd after Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen.
Sources: PAP, Onet
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