In a bid to revive his scandal-hit candidature for the French presidency, conservative candidate François Fillon on Tuesday published a letter to the French public in the widely-read regional newspaper Ouest-France, reports FRANCE 24.
As yet more allegations about his wife's job as a parliamentary aide emerged, former prime minister Fillon re-affirmed the legality of the salaries paid out to his wife and children.
However, Fillon apologised for privileging a collaboration with his family, which he admitted was no longer acceptable, and wrote that he should have ended it earlier.
He also said he was "determined" to continue his bid for the presidency, and appealed to the public to make the right choice in the forthcoming elections, laying out his intent to recover and reunite France.
“I have decided I will not bow to pressure and intimidation,” he wrote. “I have chosen instead to be open to the French public, and to face their judgement [in the forthcoming elections].”
On Monday, Fillon addressed a press conference in which he cast himself as the victim of a media "lynching" and "political assassination", even as he expressed carefully-worded regret for the hundreds of thousands of euros his family members earned from state coffers.
Fillon, whose run for the Elysée Palace has been derailed by the so-called “Penelopegate” scandal, insisted that had not acted illegally and would pursue his campaign for the presidency with “renewed determination”.
On Tuesday, Le Canard Enchaîné newspaper behind the original revelations published new claims that could stymie his attempt to put the scandal behind him.