Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
PARIS (AP) — French presidential candidate Francois Fillon, facing charges in an investigation of taxpayer-funded jobs his wife and children received but allegedly never performed, says the justice system is being manipulated to affect the election.
In an interview Wednesday with Radio Classique, Fillon said he believed the goal was to ensure "that the right and the center have no candidate. That way it will be simpler: It will be a debate between the left and Madame (Marine) Le Pen."
A top contender in a French presidential election never has reached such a critical step in a criminal investigation, yet Fillon has vowed to keep campaigning less than six weeks before the first-round vote.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
