BREAKING NEWS

France's Fillon to launch campaign fight back against scandal

French conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon will fight back on Monday against the fake job scandal that threatens his campaign, a source close to him said.
"Counter-attack," the source said in a text message. Fillon "plans to tell the truth to the French people", when he speaks at his campaign headquarters at 4 pm (1500 GMT).
Fillon has come under pressure to quit the race since a newspaper, Le Canard enchaine, published a report on Jan. 25 alleging that his wife Penelope was paid hundreds of thousands of euros in state money for work she may never have done.
Ahead of Fillon's news conference, Le Monde newspaper said prosecutors were investigating whether there was a link between a Legion of Honour medal awarded to a wealthy businessman friend of Fillon and a sum of money that businessman paid to Penelope.