Francois Fillon 'fake job' probe sees French parliament raided
Investigators looking into allegations French presidential candidate Francois Fillon paid his British wife for a 'fake job' have searched his office in the French parliament.
The office in the National Assembly, France's lower house of parliament, was raided on Tuesday morning by financial police, a source told the Reuters news agency.
France's satirical weekly magazine Le Canard Enchaine reported last week that Penelope Fillon was paid €500,000 (£430,000) for a job that did not exist.
It said she was paid from state funds between 1998 and 2013 for working as a parliamentary assistant but could find no evidence any work had been done.
Mr Fillon, who will be the centre-right candidate in this April's preliminary round of the presidential elections, claimed his wife's work was real and he is a victim of a smear campaign.
His lawyer told RTL Radio: "Francois Fillon had no constituency office while he was a member of parliament.
"That role was filled from their home, and in your view who is at home... if there is no office? Penelope Fillon of course."
Mr Fillon and his wife were questioned for five hours on Monday in a preliminary investigation into allegations of embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds.
The Republican candidate said afterwards he and his wife "were able to provide elements useful for establishing the truth".
Until the allegations surfaced, Mr Fillon had been the clear favourite to win the election, which takes place over two rounds in April and May.
He was expected to face far-right Marine Le Pen in the second round as the Socialists, who on Sunday chose left-wing Benoit Hamon as their candidate, have slumped in popularity under President Hollande.
A fourth contender, centrist independent Emmanuel Macron has been just a few percentage points behind Mr Fillon and Ms Le Pen in the polls during the last month.
In the latest poll by Kantar Sofres, taken after the scandal broke, there were indications that Ms Le Pen had pulled ahead by several points.
The polls cover voting intentions in the first round, which would eliminate all but two candidates.
Mr Fillon, who has a reputation for being an anglophile, married his Welsh-born wife in her home town of Llanover in 1980 after meeting her while she was on a gap year in Le Mans, according to The Times.
Prosecutors are not expected to decide on whether to press ahead with charges for another month.
