Fillon was one of the top contenders in the French presidential election in 2017, but his campaign was derailed after it was revealed that he had improperly paid his wife Penelope for years with public money by giving her a fake job as a collaborator. This happened with three contracts between 1998 and 2013 for a total amount of 612,000 euros net. In 2002 and 2005 she allegedly also started working for his successor in parliament, Marc Joulaud, when Fillon himself became a minister.
In the first instance, he was already sentenced in June 2020 to, among other things, five years in prison, of which two years are effective.
Fillon’s wife was sentenced to three years in prison, a €375,000 fine and two years ineligibility. His successor Marc Joulaud also receives up to three years in prison, a fine of 20,000 euros and five years ineligibility.