Paris (AFP)
Several officials of the Republicans brought their "friendship" to François Fillon on Monday and said their "amazement" after the "terribly heavy" conviction of the ex-Prime Minister in the fictitious jobs case of his wife Penelope.
"Friendly support for François Fillon. Amazed at the severity of the decision rendered by the criminal court," said on Twitter the president of LR Christian Jacob, who said he was "convinced that the call will shed light on the procedure, and in particular the role of the PNF "(the national financial prosecutor's office).
Bruno Retailleau, president of the LR group in the Senate, estimated that the former right-wing presidential candidate of 2017 "was already condemned before the trial".
Mr. Fillon was sentenced on Monday to five years in prison, two of which are closed; his wife at three years suspended. Both will have to reimburse more than one million euros to the National Assembly and pay 750,000 euros in fines.
For the Alpes-Maritimes deputy Eric Ciotti, this "terribly heavy" condemnation is "in the continuity of a politico-judicial scenario whose outcome was known even before the outcome".
"There is a disturbance on the independence of justice" with "a presumption of innocence and a secrecy of the instruction flouted", for his part affirmed on BFMTV the deputy of Bouches-du-Rhône Valérie Boyer, for who "the French were deprived of presidential debates".
The right is upwind against the PNF after revelations in files concerning François Fillon or Nicolas Sarkozy, who himself denounced Thursday an "accumulation of failures and dysfunctions".
Former Minister of Justice Rachida Dati described the PNF as a "dispensary" and Eric Ciotti plans to table a bill to remove it.
On the RN side, former FN MEP Bruno Gollnisch, indicted in the alleged fictitious jobs of Marine Le Pen's party, spoke on Monday of "a perfect judicial coup".
© 2020 AFP