Fillon case: a judgment surrounded by suspense expected this Monday

François and Pénélope Fillon at the Paris Tribunal de Grande Instance, February 27, 2020. STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

This Monday, June 29, at 1:30 p.m. Paris time, the criminal court should render its judgment in the case of the couple François and Pénélope Fillon. The wife of the former presidential candidate of 2017 is indeed accused of having occupied a fictitious job of parliamentary assistant for several years. But recent revelations about pressures put on by the public prosecutor's office could turn things upside down. This Monday, two scenarios are therefore possible.

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In the first case, the president of the court may decide as expected to render her judgment. The Fillon couple can then decide, if they wish, to appeal the decision.

But another scenario is also possible. In question, the resounding revelations made 15 days ago by Eliane Houlette, the former national financial prosecutor. She denounces pressure from her hierarchy for the rapid opening of judicial information when François Fillon was a presidential candidate.

► Read also: Fillon case: Emmanuel Macron takes to the Conseil de la magistrature

In light of these new elements, the couple's lawyers asked for the proceedings to be reopened. A request that the president can therefore refuse or accept.

If she accepts it, it will be up to her to conduct this new further investigation and the date of the judgment will therefore be postponed.

During the hearings which ended last March, the National Financial Prosecutor's Office had requested 5 years in prison, 3 of which were suspended, 375,000 euros in fines and 10 years of ineligibility for François Fillon. Three years suspended sentence and the same fine for his wife Pénélope Fillon.

► Read also: Headlines: the Fillon affair, the shadow of a doubt

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  • France
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