Francois Fillon remain in the French Presidentail race despite now being under formal investigation for embezzlement. Getting on for a million Euros of French taxpayer’s money went down the gurgler for apparently fictious jobs for his Welsh-born wife Penelope and their children.
The trouble for M Fillon is largely that, at the relevant time, Penelope was interviewed by the Sunday Telegraph. She said that she did not work for her husband. No. Not at all. Not her thing. And someone has dug out the recording of that interview. Hmm.
Now, Penelope Fillon is a clever woman and, like the original Penelope, famously loyal to her husband. So why would she say that?
The only answer that springs to mind is that she had no idea that she featured in this arrangement.
And, presumably, that would mean that she did not receive this monstrous “salary”; if she had, she would presumably have asked, “Why is all this money turning up in my bank account? What is it for?”
So, one wonders, did M Fillon not only defraud the French taxpayer, but also his wife?
Presumably, the prosecuting authorities will get to the bottom of all of this. Meanwhile, it does not look good.
