François Fillon's wife officially charged over embezzlement of public funds

The British-born wife of French presidential candidate François Fillon has been formally put under investigation in the fake jobs scandal that has engulfed her husband’s campaign.

François Fillon was handed preliminary charges two weeks ago over allegations he paid hundreds of thousands of euros to his wife and children for work they did not do. 

Penelope Fillon is now being prosecuted for embezzlement, misappropriation of public funds and aggravated fraud, it was reported late on Tuesday evening.

The announcement that she had been mise en examen – the equivalent in French law of being charged or arraigned – came after several hours of questioning by the French financial prosecutor.

Considered a favourite to become president until recently, Fillon, 63, has seen his chances seriously damaged by the fictitious jobs allegations and other scandals.

Less than four weeks from the first round vote, he is now in third place behind the far-right Front National president Marine Le Pen and independent centrist Emmanuel Macron.

A third suspect, Marc Joulaud – who stood in for Fillon in the Assemblée Nationale when the politician was made a government minister, and also reportedly employed Penelope Fillon – has also been mise en examen.

The scandal erupted in January when the satirical newspaper Le Canard Enchainé revealed that Fillon had paid his wife and two of their five children more than €900,000 for over 10 years to work as his parliamentary assistants. She was also allegedly paid another €100,000 to work for a literary review owned by one of her husband’s friends.

Fillon, who has denied any wrongdoing, originally said he would withdraw from the presidential race if formal charges were brought against him but has since gone back on his promise, refusing to step down while claiming the charges are politically motivated.