Embattled French presidential candidate François Fillon delivered a defiant speech to thousands of supporters in central Paris on Sunday, but made no pledge to fight on as pressure from his conservative party mounted on him to step aside, reports Reuters.
Once the frontrunner in the presidential race, Fillon is mired in a scandal over his wife's pay, and his campaign has been in serious trouble since he learnt last week that he could be placed under formal investigation for misuse of public funds.
Party leaders prepared for a meeting on Monday to discuss crisis ahead of a March 17 deadline when all candidates must be formally endorsed by at least 500 elected officials.
A senior politician from his party, The Republicans, had earlier said that several party heavyweights were about to issue a statement calling for former prime minister Alain Juppé, who lost to Fillon in November for the party ticket, to replace him.
As thousands of tricolour flag-waving supporters chanted for him to stay, Fillon appeared to put the ball back into his party's court.
"I will continue to tell my political friends that the choice is down to them, and also not down to them," he said in a half-hour speech laced with attacks on the outgoing Socialist government, far-right National Front and the favourite, independent Emmanuel Macron.
"Because the choice is yours, those of your votes and through those votes your hopes. I am sure that it will be all of France's choice if we are able to gather ourselves in an ultimate push."
However he made no promises to battle on until the end.
"I am attacked from all sides and with all consciousness I must listen to you, listen to this massive crowd that pushes me forward, but I must also ask myself about those who doubt me and jump ship," he said as rain poured down.
"Their responsibility is huge, but so is mine."
After a string of resignations among advisers and backers, the 63-year-old Fillon had been banking on a big turnout at the rally, on a square looking across the river Seine to the Eiffel tower, to show his detractors that he remains their best hope to win the presidency.
But others in his party were already looking for a way to oust him.
"In the coming hours, we will propose an initiative," Christian Estrosi, a close ally of former President Nicolas Sarkozy, told BFM TV. He said this would take the form of a statement from himself and other party heavyweights.
"We do not have the time to debate who has the most talent. The easiest thing obviously ... is the person who came second in the primaries and that quite simply is Alain Juppé."
Jean Leonetti, a pro-Juppé lawmaker in the party said Sarkozy and Juppé had spoken on Saturday night and Juppé had probably outlined his conditions for replacing Fillon.