Seven years after the Fillon affair, the former candidate LR proposed paying a huge sum of money as compensation to the National Assembly.
Remember: the Fillon affair broke out on January 25, 2017, precipitating the defeat of the LR candidate in the elections of the same year. The one who was given the big favorite in the presidential election had finally suffered a humiliating defeat, finishing behind Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron. The revelations of Le Canard aîné about Penelope Fillon, suspected of fictitious jobs, had considerably complicated the campaign of the former Prime Minister, already weakened in January.
The investigation noted that Penelope Fillon received approximately 750,000 euros gross as a parliamentary attaché, a position held between 1998 and 2007. The weekly Palmipède had reconsidered that the sums received amounted to 831,440 euros gross. On May 9, 2022, the former Prime Minister was found guilty by the Court of Appeal, receiving four years of imprisonment, including one year, a fine of 375,000 euros and ten years of ineligibility. The Court of Cassation subsequently recognized the guilt of François Fillon while ordering a new trial before the court of appeal in order to define the sentence for the former Prime Minister, his wife and his former deputy.
Seven years later, François Fillon intends to “return the money” and has sent, according to BFMTVa memorandum of understanding providing for the payment of 689,989.32 euros to the National Assembly, spread over the next ten years. This amount corresponds to the damages that he had been “jointly” ordered to pay to the Palais Bourbon with his wife, Penelope Fillon, and his former deputy, Marc Joulaud, at the end of his trial during appeal.
This proposal is therefore not insignificant, since the Court of Cassation considered that the sentence of four years in prison (including one year with an electronic bracelet), established by the Court of Appeal, should be reviewed. A new trial has therefore been scheduled for November 25 to redefine his sentence. “And to avoid too heavy a sanction, Fillon wants to present himself in his best light. By showing that he has understood the facts and that he has finally planned to return the money…” analyzed a close friend of the accused, interviewed by BFMTV.