Questions Remain at Fillon Trial Despite Defense Evidence

Fillon trial: Inconsistencies and defense strategy - 20 Minutes

• François and Penelope Fillon are on trial for “embezzlement of public funds” and “abuse of social goods”.
• François Fillon is accused of having paid his wife as a parliamentary collaborator when she did not exercise real functions, according to the prosecution.
• This Monday, on the 4th day of the hearing, the defense tried to provide evidence of the activity of Penelope Fillon with her husband during his various terms.

It must have been time for proof. After denouncing a "biased instruction" and "irrelevant" testimony, François Fillon intended to demonstrate this Monday the real job occupied by his wife Penelope when he was a member of parliament. To achieve this, the couple's lawyers added nearly 500 documents, letters, e-mails, certificates or clippings from the local press to the file. But the task looked to be complex. During the investigation, these elements had been swept away by the examining magistrates considering that they were "intended to make mass" and "did not demonstrate anything".

Avoiding possible criticism of a hearing against the defendants, the magistrates in charge of trying them today therefore took their time. Three hours to peel and peel these pieces, mostly found in the Fillon couple's manor. What connection do they have with the parliamentary collaborator contract of Penelope Fillon? What was its contribution in the tasks put forward by the defense? And the same nagging question that kept coming up: would she have performed all these tasks if no paid contract had tied her to her husband?

Opening, conference and horse competition

On the desk fixed to the bar, a thick file stands. Throughout the audience, glasses screwed on the nose, Penelope Fillon leafed through this compact volume. Inside, all the documents collected by their lawyers and intended to prove the employment of the wife of the ex-Prime Minister appear.

There are a few press clippings in black and white, relating to a local vernissage, an exhibition or a conference in a hospital establishment. "I represented my husband," said Penelope Fillon at the helm. In May 2012, she was invited by merchants from the town of Sablé for an event that showcased England. The magistrate questions: "Do you think that you would have been invited if you did not have a contract which bound you to your husband? ". "I don't know" stammered the defendant. The answer is yes, her husband had not yet left Matignon at the time and was not yet exercising his future mandate as a deputy.

We note that among the documents tendered by the defense, some are simply letters recovered in Beaucé by lawyers. But on which Ms. #Fillon has produced no input. François Fillon explains that it was probably his wife who transmitted it. That's all.

A few pages later, the president looks at the many discussions between Penelope Fillon and the "historic" secretary of her husband, Sylvie Fourmont. When they arrive at the couple's home, the mail is redirected by François Fillon's wife to the members of his team of collaborators who take over. For the majority, she admits that she did not intervene on the merits, her initials moreover almost never appear on the letters sent. Finally, for many, the links between the writings of lawyers and the activity of Penelope Fillon seem tenuous or even non-existent.

Our file on the Fillon trial

A few centimeters from her, François Fillon regularly comes to her rescue. “We have to be constantly on the back of our collaborators for files to progress, there are a lot of requests and letters arriving (…) what I asked Penelope was to constantly check that files are progressing (…) ) she was the link between the field and me and played the role of principal ”, justifies the ex-deputy of Sarthe.

"Nobody asked me the question"

Beyond the role played by Penelope, it is the relative title for which the wife of François Fillon exercised such or such an activity which sparked lively debate on Monday. "Listening to you, we understand that you had the same activity, whether you were contracted or not", notes one of the prosecutors, Aurélien Létocart. "I think everything is so mixed that it is impossible to say that I did this as a wife, this as a parliamentary collaborator" concedes Penelope Fillon. The representative of the public prosecutor insisted: "You would have done it no matter what? So what justifies a work contract? ".

Silence behind the bar. François Fillon intervenes as every time his wife struggles to find her words: “We could ask the question in a different way: is it not abnormal to work and not be paid? ", He says. Not enough to destabilize the prosecution which continues: "What would happen in the minds of citizens of Sarthe or Parisians if they knew that you were contractually the collaborator of your husband? What did it change? And why was it you? “, Intervenes Bruno Nataf. Penelope Fillon, reassured, confides: "But that was not you! Nobody asked me the question, I didn't need to advertise it like that either. The people who worked in François' team knew this and that was the main thing. "

The trial will resume on Wednesday March 4.

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• Justice
• Fictitious job
• Misappropriation of public funds
• Penelope Fillon
• Trial
• Fillon trial
• François Fillon