After the decision of the Court of Cassation in the case of fictitious jobs at the National Assembly, Penelope Fillon, wife of former Prime Minister François Fillon, resigned from her position as municipal councilor in Solesmes, in Sarthe, said the mayor of this small town on Monday April 29.
“She submitted her resignation to me on Thursday [April 25] at the beginning of the afternoon,” announced Pascal Lelièvre, mayor of Solesmes, to a correspondent from Agence France-Presse (AFP), confirming information from Maine Free.
The day before, the Court of Cassation confirmed the guilt of the Fillon spouses in the fictitious jobs affair which had contributed to the elimination in the first round of Mr. Fillon in the race for the Elysée in 2017.
“She regrets” leaving the municipal council, “because she was well invested,” said Mr. Lelièvre. “She never missed a municipal council meeting, she participated in several commissions. It is with regret that I see her leave. »
Reduced sentence on appeal
In 2017, the press revealed that Ms. Fillon and two of her children had benefited from fictitious jobs, that Mr. Fillon had received an undeclared loan of 50,000 euros from a friend and that he had been offered luxury suits by another. The former head of government (2007-2012) was indicted, then eliminated in the first round of the presidential election in 2017, before retiring from political life.
He was sentenced in 2020 to five years’ imprisonment (two firm and three suspended), a fine of 375,000 euros and ten years of ineligibility. The prison sentence was reduced on appeal in 2022, falling to four years, one of which was closed.
On April 24, the Court of Cassation announced that François Fillon was definitively found guilty in this case, but ordered a new trial regarding the sentences handed down against her, as well as damages. Ms. Fillon’s conviction, also reduced on appeal, was for its part confirmed.
