#FRANCE: Socialists, Conservatives Unite To Defeat Le Pen In Run-Off Election

[world politics news]

France's beaten mainstream parties have lined up behind Emmanuel Macron in a desperate bid to stave off a victory for the National Front Party's Marine Le Pen in the final round of the presidential election. The Republicans' François Fillon and Socialist Benoît Hamon urged supporters to vote for Macron on May 7, after Le Pen and Macron defeated the conservative and Socialist candidates in the first round election yesterday to advance to the run-off. Pres. François Hollande has also said he will vote for Macron.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#FRANCE: Voters Head To The Polls Today In First Round of Presidential Voting

[world politics news]

French voters are voting today in the first round of their presidential election - the most contentious and meaningful in decades. National Front candidate Marine Le Pen is expected to do well, and may perhaps win 50% or more, avoiding a run-off election with her 10 other opponents. She, along with many of the other candidates, have campaigned against the European Union, and she vows to pull out of the Euro currency, a "Frexit" that would follow the pattern of the British "Brexit."

[FULL STORY HERE]

#FRANCE: Pres. Candidate Fillon Charged In "Fake Jobs" Scandal

[world politics news]

French presidential candidate François Fillon was officially charged on Tuesday over the "fake jobs" scandal involving his British wife, Penelope. The conservative is being investigated for various offences including misuse of public funds. "He was charged this morning. The hearing was brought forward so that it could take place in a calm manner," his lawyer Antonin Levy said. Fillon was also charged with misuse of corporate assets, said Levy. The candidate had already made it public in a heated press conference that he had been summoned by judges with a view to being charged.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#FRANCE: New Allegations Over Undeclared €50,000 Loan Rock Pres. Cand. François Fillon

[world politics news]

Just as the rough waters surrounding François Fillon's campaign were seemingly becoming smooth, fresh allegations of an undeclared €50,000 loan again threaten to capsize his presidential ambitions. received an interest-free, undeclared loan of €50,000 (£43,000) from a billionaire businessman in 2013, according to the latest revelations by the French weekly Le Canard Enchainé. Fillon "did not deem it necessary" to report the loan from the French business tycoon Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière to a state transparency watchdog, the paper said. Fillon’s lawyer told the paper that he had fully repaid the loan.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#FRANCE: Scandal-Plagued Pres. Cand. Fillon Wins Full Backing Of His Party To Stay In The Race

[world politics news]

Presidential candidate Francois Fillon has won unanimous backing from leaders of his Republicans party in Monday night meeting, giving him hope he has finally silenced those who have consistently called on him to step aside over the last six weeks. The conservative former prime minister has been in torment since January 24 when revelations first emerged that he had paid his wife and children hundreds of thousands of euros from public funds, with little evidence of their work.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#FRANCE: Fillon Faces Growing Chorus In His Own Party To Quit Presidential Race

[world politics news]

Dogged by investigations of alleged scandals, presidential candidate Francois Fillon is facing growing calls from within his own party to quit the presidential race, as polling shows him falling behind daily, and former supporters saying his campaign's a "sinking ship" risking a "catastrophe" for his right-leaning party.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#FRANCE: 65% Want Scandal-Plagued Fillon To Drop Out Of Race; Says He Won't

[world politics news]

Even with a new poll showing 65% of French voters want scandal-plagued presidential candidate Francois Fillon to drop out of the race, he says he will remain and fight to the end. Fillon is facing a prosecutor investigating whether his wife and children had "do-nothing" jobs in Parliament earning them hundreds of thousands of Euros. He'd earlier said he might drop out but now says he will soldier on.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#FRANCE: Embattled Pres. Cand. Fillon Faces Internal Calls From Party To Step Down

[world politics news]

About 40 members of the French center right on Tuesday called on embattled presidential candidate François Fillon to consider dropping out of the race over a financial scandal they say has damaged his campaign beyond repair. The elected officials, from his Republican Party, told him in parliament to find a "political solution" to his problems, which has resulted in his on-the-ground campaign nearly grinding to a halt. He faces allegations that he paid his wife and children hundreds of thousands of euros in public funds for work they did not do or for which they were unqualified.

[FULL STORY HERE]

BREAKING: #FRANCE: Pres. Candidate Francois Fillon Defiant, Won't Quit Race Amid Legal Troubles

[world politics news]

Saying that "the media are not a tribunal," former French prime minister and conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon fought back today in a defiant news conference against a 10-day "media campaign," an "assassination" and an "institutional coup d'etat" against him. Fillon faces a criminal probe after allegedly giving his wife a "fake" job. He said he will not drop out of the race, citing the trust primary voters put in him. "They elected me because I have a program that broke from the past. Their choice will be respected. Nobody can deprive them of that choice." He urged all candidates to be treated fairly and the same way by the media, and attacked the "elite class." He says electing the far Left or Marine LePen's far Right parties would be dangerous. He said he would re-launch his campaign with "renewed energy and determination, Nothing will divert me from my will to restore France's position and give them hope."

[ORIGINAL REPORTING]

#FRANCE: Police Open Investigation Into Pres. Candidate's Wife's "Fake Job" As Parliamentary Aide

[world politics news]

French police have opened an investigation over revelations that French presidential candidate François Fillon paid his wife €500,000 as a parliamentary aide. Investigators want to find out whether Penelope Fillon actually carried out any work.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#FRANCE: Frmr. Pres. Sarkozy Eliminated in Republican Primary

[world politics news]

Former French prime ministers François Fillon and Alain Juppé will vie for the center-right Republican Party nomination in a run-off after handing controversial former president Nicolas Sarkozy a shock defeat on Sunday. With three-quarters of votes counted, Sarkozy (21.7%) was lagging well behind Fillon (43.7%) and Juppé (27.8%.) Sarkozy endorsed Fillon, who leads in the polls to take on Marine Le Pen’s anti-European platform in next year's presidential election.