- The trial of the couple Fillon and the former deputy of Sarthe Marc Joulaud opens this Monday before the criminal court of Paris.
- They are all on trial in the case of the alleged jobs of Penelope Fillon, for which the wife of the former Prime Minister allegedly received more than 1 million euros between 1998 and 2013.
- Sacked for "misuse of corporate assets" and "embezzlement", François Fillon faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison and a fine of 1 million euros.
Three years have passed since the publication of the article "For Fillon, Pénélope is a good vein" in one of the Canard Enchaîné. Three years during which the ousted candidate (LR) in the 2017 presidential election remained in the shadows. The only foray into the media landscape of the former Prime Minister? An interview granted on January 30 to France 2. For François Fillon, she had one objective: to prepare the judicial field by delivering "her truth" on the so-called "Penelope Gate" affair. A "truth" that he will be free to expose this Monday to the magistrates of the Paris Criminal Court charged with trying him for "embezzlement of public funds" and "abuse of social goods".
At his side, his wife Penelope Fillon will have to answer counts of "complicity and concealment of embezzlement of public funds" and "conceal of abuse of social goods". Like his deputy and successor to the National Assembly, Marc Joulaud, also prosecuted for "embezzlement of public funds". For months, the investigators in charge of the investigations have been studying this trio. What do the magistrates accuse them of? What is their defense and what do they risk? 20 Minutes takes stock before three weeks of trial.
François Fillon, the man at the heart of the matter
The former Prime Minister is the most exposed in this file. Elected in 1981 in the 4th district of Sarthe, François Fillon had - until the blast and his fall precipitated by the affair - never left French political life. Deputy, president of the general council of Sarthe, minister of higher education, minister of social affairs, senator, prime minister or even candidate of the right in the presidential election: he surveyed, for 35 years, the mysteries of power .
- What is he accused of?
François Fillon is on trial for several facts. Justice accuses him of having employed and remunerated his wife as a full-time “parliamentary collaborator” under his mandate then under that of his deputy for a total salary estimated at 1 million euros paid between 1998 and 2013. A job presumed to be fictitious . The magistrates also reproach him for not having declared a loan of 50,000 euros granted generously by his friend Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, owner of the Revue des Deux Mondes and employer, too, of Penelope Fillon at the request of her husband. For the abuse of social property in the section relating to The Revue des Deux Mon des, François Fillon incurs a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a fine of 375,000 euros. For the embezzlement of public funds, he faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and a fine of 1 million euros. The National Assembly, a civil party to the trial, will demand a total of 1.08 million euros from the three defendants.
- What is his line of defense?
François Fillon assures that his wife Penelope has indeed occupied and carried out his work as parliamentary assistant. Cultivating "discretion" and favoring "orality", the wife of ex-candidate LR was, according to him, his "local relay" in Sarthe. Relying on more than 500 documents filed with the instruction supposed to prove the real activity of his wife between 1998 and 2007 then between 2012 and 2013, François Fillon also counts on the testimonies of some of his relatives. Five of his former collaborators in the National Assembly have, according to him, provided evidence of the omnipresence and the indispensable role of his wife in the exercise of his mandates.
- What does the instruction say?
The judges who decided to refer François Fillon to court very strongly question the evidence provided by the former Prime Minister. "Intended to mass, to convince of the reality of the work of parliamentary collaborator of Penelope Fillon, these documents did not demonstrate anything, or confirmed the abuse of language consisting in qualifying of" work "(…) the most innocuous of its activities" , they write. As for the “omission” to declare the loan contracted with his friend, the judges consider that “it would rather seem that he preferred to conceal (…) the benefit of a loan under very favorable conditions”.
Penelope Fillon, "Penny", the discreet wife
According to her friends, her husband's collaborators and her own admission, Penelope Clarke, who became Penelope Fillon in June 1980, is a "discreet", "shy" and "reserved" woman. Born in Wales, this mother of five passionate about literature was - until January 25, 2017 - little known to the general public.
- What is he accused of?
Central figure of the investigation , Penelope Clarke is tried for "complicity in embezzlement of public funds" and "abuse of social goods". First employed by her deputy husband for “specific missions”, she was hired full time as a parliamentary collaborator from 1998. At the time, she received up to 20,000 francs (3,048 euros) per month. An employee during her husband's last mandate between 2012 and 2013, she received, in those years, 3,450 euros net per month. But the documents allowing to demonstrate a "real activity" are missing, according to justice.
Devoid of office at the Assembly, access badge or even email address, she exchanged with the other assistants of François Fillon on a few occasions, on the management of his diary or to facilitate occasional requests from citizens. Then, "tired of politics", she asked her husband in 2012 to find a new "activity". Put in contact with Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, owner of the Revue des Deux Mondes, she signed that same year a “literary advisor” contract for 3,900 euros net per month. In one year, only two of his reading sheets will be published. Lack of activity, she will end by breaking her contract at the end of 2013.
- What is his line of defense?
Penelope Fillon explained to the investigators that she had started working with her husband in a "more structured" way from 1998. Her main role focused on the management of the mail addressed to her husband and on the writing of "points, cards , memos ”to prepare François Fillon's interventions at local events. He also sometimes "represented" him in his place and received people at their homes.
The statements of other collaborators of the former Prime Minister, demonstrate, according to her, her involvement with him during his various mandates as well as the 500 pages of documents provided to the investigators. Concerning the Revue des Deux Mondes , she said she "regretted" not having been asked enough but justifies this lack of activity by internal tensions between the title owner and his editor.
- What does the instruction say?
To say that the magistrates responsible for the investigation were not convinced by his defense is an understatement. In their order for referral to the criminal court, they sift through the version delivered by Penelope and François Fillon. “The investigation revealed that Penelope Fillon had led, from 1981 (…) a life of a housewife (…) Confronted with the absence of evidence (…) Penelope and François Fillon, while causing a mass of documents without interest, have developed the thesis of an essentially oral collaboration, having not given rise to the production of any writing and known to a very small circle of relatives ”, they write in conclusion, tackling at passing a presentation of things "not very serious" and statements "implausible".
Marc Joulaud, the "shy" substitute
Substitute for François Fillon in the National Assembly between 2002 and 2012, Marc Joulaud is the current mayor of Sablé-sur-Sarthe, stronghold of the former candidate for the presidential election. Candidate for the municipal elections in March, this loyal couple Fillon is described by his co-defendants and some of his collaborators as "shy". Marc Joulaud, 62, has spent his entire career in the shadow of his "mentor".
- What is he accused of?
Marc Joulaud is sent back to court for "embezzlement of public funds". He also faces a sentence of ten years in prison and a fine of 1 million euros. Succeeding François Fillon on the benches of the Palais-Bourbon after his nomination to the government in 2002, the ex-deputy of Sarthe is suspected of having employed Penelope Fillon for activities deemed "fictitious or overvalued". At the time, Marc Joulaud was only 34 years old when he signed the fully pre-filled employment contract for François Fillon's wife. His other collaborators, they were unaware of the function supposedly occupied by Penelope Fillon during his mandate.
- What is his line of defense?
Faced with the investigators, Marc Joulaud explained that Penelope Fillon had helped him to set up locally, to forge links and, as for her husband, had represented him at local demonstrations. He acknowledged that he had no hierarchical authority over her and discussed with the couple a "collaboration of three requiring trust and absolute loyalty". Better paid than him when he was a member of parliament when he was his parliamentary attaché, Penelope Fillon was, according to Marc Joulaud, "the best possible collaborator" to "settle and grow in this position".
- What does the instruction say?
There again, the magistrates make a severe analysis of the defense advanced by the elected official. They point to the statements of Penelope Fillon, who herself acknowledged that she did not provide Marc Joulaud with notes, sheets or press reviews, that she did not correct her speeches, had neither a work schedule nor an office. The judges brushed aside the argument consisting in putting forward the role of guide in the political life of Sarthoise played by Penelope Fillon and justifying his hiring at his side. "Supposing that Marc Joulaud was really handicapped by an unhealthy shyness, it is difficult to see how Penelope Fillon, who described herself as particularly reserved, could have been of any help to him," notes the statement.
Our file on the Fillon trial
Yes ; throughout the investigation, neither the couple nor Marc Joulaud managed to remove the doubts of the instructing magistrates, they now have nine days left to try to convince those responsible for judging them.
Justice
“PenelopeGate”: Three years after his indictment, François Fillon remains on the same line of defense
Politics
Fillon case: The political-judicial conspiracy theory is still popular with Les Républicains
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- Fictitious job
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