French presidential candidate François Fillon and his wife are being questioned by investigators as part of a probe into allegations that Penelope Fillon was paid for fake jobs, a source close to the case said on Monday, reports FRANCE 24.
François Fillon, who has denied any wrongdoing, had said after the probe was opened last week that he wanted to be heard by the investigators. Such questioning is a normal step in a preliminary probe and not a sign of culpability.
The financial prosecutor's office, Fillon's lawyer and his staff were not immediately available for comment on the case, which is sapping the popularity of the former conservative prime minister and could shake up the April-May presidential contest.
Satirical weekly Le Canard enchaîné reported last week that Penelope Fillon had been paid 500,000 euros ($534,000) from state funds as a parliamentary assistant to her husband and his successor but that it could find no proof of her having actually done any work.
The source close to the case said businessman Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière was also questioned because his Fimalac holding company owns the literary review La Revue des Deux Mondes, which Le Canard enchaîné said paid Penelope Fillon another 100,000 euros for very little work.
Fillon, until now the clear favourite to win the two-round election, has said his wife's work was real, and says he is the victim of a smear campaign. He is facing an increasingly tight race against centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right party leader Marine Le Pen.
An investigation was launched last week into the affair, which has knocked Fillon's presidential campaign off course and dented the wholesome image the devout Catholic has cultivated.
The probe so far is only a preliminary investigation, the first step in the judicial process. The conservative former prime minister has said he would abandon his presidential bid if placed under formal criminal investigation.