The former Prime Minister was sentenced by the Paris Court of Appeal in May 2022 to four years in prison, including one year, ten years of ineligibility and a fine of 375,000 euros in the fictitious jobs case.
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“He asks to be judged impartially”declares Tuesday February 27 on France Bleu Maine, Me François-Henri Briard, lawyer for François Fillon. The Court of Cassation will examine Wednesday at 10 a.m. the appeals of the former Prime Minister, his wife, Pénélope Fillon, and his former deputy in the National Assembly Marc Joulaud, in the case of fictitious jobs also called “Penelopegate” . François-Henri Briard assures that François Fiillon is “confident and serene”.
“The revelations made by Madame Houlette, who headed the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office at the time, characterize what we call a breach of objective impartiality”, denounces Me François-Henri Briard. He alludes to the statements of Eliane Houlette in 2020. The former head of the PNF claimed to have suffered “pressures” of his hierarchy, during the investigation into suspicions of fictitious jobs targeting François Fillon. She specified that she had decided completely independently to open a preliminary investigation after the revelations of the Chained duck.
“Above all, he asks to be treated like a litigant”
But Eliane Houlette added that she had received from her hierarchy “rapid transmission requests” on the investigative acts or hearings carried out as part of this investigation, within unusually short time frames and in particularly large numbers. Thus, for Me François-Henri Briard, “Mr. Fillon and the two other defendants did not benefit from an impartial procedure.”
On this point, the Constitutional Council agreed with François Fillon last September. He can therefore invoke the nullity of the procedure carried out against him. “Above all, he asks to be treated as a litigant, no more, no less. Mr. Fillon has the right, and wishes to be judged impartially”retorts François-Henri Briard.
