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PARIS (AP) — An official says the benefactor who bought French presidential candidate Francois Fillon two suits worth 13,000 euros ($14,000) last month is an unofficial adviser for African and French presidents.
Lawyer Robert Bourgi had close links to former French presidents Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy, as well as the former leaders of Senegal and Gabon.
The judges who already were investigating Fillon have extended their probe to include the suits he says he received as a gift.
The Journal du Dimanche newspaper reported this week that the candidate had received the suits in what it described as a possible conflict of interest.
Fillon is facing charges for allegedly using public funds to pay his wife and children for work they never performed.
He has vowed to keep campaigning for the April-May election.
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