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Pressure on Fillon persists despite Paris rally

Scandal-hit French conservative candidate Francois Fillon said Sunday "no one" could stop him standing in the presidential election despite calls from his own party to quit over an expenses scandal.

Francois Fillon, former French prime minister, member of The Republicans political party and 2017 presidential election candidate of the French centre-right and his wife Penelope (R) attend a meeting at the Trocadero square across from the Eiffel Tower.
Francois Fillon, former French prime minister, member of The Republicans political party and 2017 presidential election candidate of the French centre-right and his wife Penelope (R) attend a meeting at the Trocadero square across from the Eiffel Tower. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer
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"No one today can prevent me being a candidate," Fillon said in a TV interview in which he again said a probe into allegations he gave his wife a highly-paid fake parliamentary job was politically motivated.

This as a senior politician from embattled French presidential candidate Francois Fillon's conservative camp said on Sunday that several party heavyweights were about to issue a statement calling for former prime minister Alain Juppe to replace him.

Once the frontrunner, Fillon is mired in a scandal over his wife's pay, and his campaign has been in serious trouble since he learned last week that he could be placed under formal investigation for misuse of public funds.

He is under growing pressure as party leaders prepare a crisis meeting for Monday to discuss the situation ahead of a March 17 deadline when all presidential candidates must be formally endorsed by at least 500 elected officials.

After a string of resignations among advisers and backers, the 63-year-old Fillon is banking on a rally of supporters in Paris on Sunday to show his detractors that he remains their best hope to win the presidency.
 

"In the coming hours, we will propose an initiative," Christian Estrosi, a close ally of former President Nicolas Sarkozy, told BFM TV, which he said would take the form of a statement from himself and other party heavyweights.

"We do not have the time to debate who has the most talent... The easiest thing obviously ... is the person who came second in the primaries and that quite simply is Alain Juppe."

Jean Leonetti, a pro-Juppe lawmaker in the conservative Republicans party said Sarkozy and Juppe had spoken about the situation on Saturday night and Juppe had probably outlined his conditions for replacing Fillon.

"The first is that Fillon supports it ... and the second is that everyone stands behind Juppe and that there are no hidden agendas," Leonetti told Reuters.

TV appearance

Fillon apologised to his supporters Sunday for the alleged fake jobs scandal that threatens to sink his presidential bid, but said he was sure he would be proved innocent.

In a speech closely watched for signs he could abandon his campaign, Fillon told a crowd of tens of thousands near the Eiffel Tower that he had made a "mistake" by employing his wife Penelope as his parliamentary assistant.

Fillon, who has been summoned by a judge over claims he paid British-born Penelope and their children nearly 900,000 euros of public funds for doing little work, said he was convinced he would eventually be found not guilty.

"The problem is that by then it will be too late, the election will have been skewed," 63-year-old Fillon said, as British-born Penelope watched him from the stage.

Meanwhyile, Jean-Christophe Lagarde, head of the centre-right UDI party, which has an alliance with the Republicans, warned that sticking with Fillon would lead to "certain failure" and called on Juppe, who lost to Fillon in the November party primary, to step in.

"In the Olympics when the gold medal winner is disqualified then it's the silver medal holder that takes over," Lagarde said on Europe 1 radio.

Opinion polls continue to show Fillon would fail to make the second round of the April/May election. Instead, centrist Emmanuel Macron is consolidating his position as favorite to win a second-round head-to-head against far-right National Front candidate Marine Le Pen.

Fillon has denied any wrongdoing and complained of judicial and media bias that amounted to a "political assassination".

His attack on the judiciary in particular has caused unease within his ranks and Sunday's demonstration has worried some on the right that it will be hijacked by hardline conservative movements.

His backers are hoping to get at least 45,000 people at today's rally to show he still has support among the grassroots.

"I think that campaign against Fillon is absolutely scandalous," said Annette Dore, 62, a former scientific publisher from Paris as thousands of supporters waving tricolore flags awaited Fillon.

"Why reproach him when he was about to win the election. It's so dishonest," she said, labeling Juppe a socialist.

Despite the mounting pressure to quit the race, Fillon remained defiant on Sunday morning.

"We shall show the strength of popular will," he said in a post on Twitter ahead of the rally. "Hold firm! France deserves our courage!"

However, an Ifop poll published on Saturday showed that more than 70 percent of French voters want him to drop out. Support from his camp has also fallen to 53 percent from 70 percent two weeks ago.

The same survey also suggested that Juppe was the best placed to step in. A poll on Friday showed that Juppe would win the April 23 first round, although the current mayor of Bordeaux has until now ruled out a comeback.

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