Le Canard enchaîné

Doubt cast on role of Sarkozy's ex-wife as parliamentary assistant

France — Link

French investigative and satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaîné reports that no obvious evidence of work exists to justify the employment as a well-paid parliamentary assistant in 2002-2003 of Nicolas Sarkozy's then wife Cécilia, who was hired by Sarkozy's stand-in as Member of Parliament after he was appointed interior minister.

Macron seeks review of fraud case against ex-rival and PM Fillon

France — Link

Claims have emerged that prosecutors were pressured to move fast in a fraud inquiry against former prime minister François Fillon, his main right-wing rival in France's 2017 presidential race.

Former French premier Fillon to face trial over fake jobs

France — Link

Judges have said Fillon and his British wife Penelope  should face trial on charges including the misuse of public money and conspiracy.

Press leaks Macron 'plan to toughen jobseeker benefits monitoring'

France — Link

The French government is planning to introduce compulsory monthly justifications from those receiving unemployment benefits that they have actively sought to find a job without which their benefits will be suspended, reported investigative and satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaîné citing an internal labour ministry document.

Why probe into key Macron ally Richard Ferrand may not yet be over

France — Investigation

When prosecutors announced in October 2017 that they were not pursuing an investigation into the financial allegations surrounding Richard Ferrand, who is now president of Emmanuel Macron's political party at the National Assembly, it seemed the end of the matter. However, an analysis of the preliminary investigation report by Mediapart shows that from start to finish Ferrand looked after his partner's interests in a property deal with a mutual health firm, even though he was managing director of that company at the time. Now anti-corruption groups are calling for an independent judge to re-open the case and investigate. Mathilde Mathieu reports.

French general 'took fighter jet for weekends'

France — Link

General Richard Reboul flew the Alpha Jet from a training base in Bordeaux in western France to his property in Provence, report says.

Journalists and judges investigating François Fillon receive death threats

France

Bullets and threatening letters have been sent to four judges plus journalists at two media organisations, including Mediapart. Of the judges who have been singled out, one is the head of the national financial crimes prosecution unit, and the other three are the judges who have been designated to investigate the 'fake jobs' allegations involving right-wing presidential candidate François Fillon and his wife Penelope. The other media outlet that received a threatening letter and a .22 calibre Long Rifle bullet was Le Canard Enchaîné, the weekly investigative newspaper that first broke the Fillon story. Matthieu Suc reports.

Penelope Fillon faces formal investigation over 'fake jobs'

France — Link

Presidential candidate François Fillon's wife is placed under investigation on suspicion of complicity in misappropriating public funds.

Kremlin says report of Fillon fee for Putin meeting is 'fake news'

International — Link

A Kremlin spokesman said revelations that French conservative presidential candidate François Fillon received, via his consultency firm, 50,000 dollars to introduce a Lebanese pipeline construction tycoon to Russian President Vladimir Putin 'is what in English we call fake news'.

François Fillon 'did not declare loan in 2013'

France — Link

Candidate's lawyer said the 50,000 euro loan from businessman Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière did not need to be declared and had been repaid.

French prosecutors open probe into Fillon wife 'fake job' report

France — Link

Public prosecutors on Wednesday announced an investigation into suspected 'misappropriation of public funds' just hours after weekly magazine Le Canard Enchaîné revealed that the wife of former PM François Fillon, now conservative candidate for the presidency, was paid 500,000 euros over eight years as his parliamentary assistant.

French presidential favourite paid wife from parliamentary funds

France — Link

Former prime minister and now conservative presidential election candidate François Fillon is under increasing pressure to prove that his British-born wife Penelope did actually complete work as a parliamentary assistant to him for which, reported weekly Le Canard Enchaîné, she was paid a total of 500,000 euros from parliamentary funds.

The French newspaper that makes money with no adverts

France — Link

Le Canard Enchainé, created 100 years ago, sells 400,000 copies a week and is profitable despite having no adverts and just a basic website.

French Fukushima cartoon offends Japan

International — Link

Tokyo to lodge complaint with French embassy over newspaper cartoon linking nuclear disaster and 2020 Olympics bid.

French interior minister drops libel action against Mediapart

France

French interior minister Claude Guéant has dropped the libel action he launched against Mediapart last year over the publication of an editorial denouncing an espionage campaign targeting journalists that had been organized from within the offices of the French presidency. The case was due to be heard in october, when Mediapart intended calling President Nicolas Sarkozy to the witness stand. Michel Deléan reports.