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The sentence of the former Prime Minister in the case of suspicion of fictitious employment of his wife, Penelope, was reduced Monday on appeal to four years in prison, one of which is firm. Having appealed in cassation, he remains free for the time being.
It is a great classic of its kind in terms of politico-financial affairs. French justice hits hard in the first instance, then puts the soft pedal on appeal, just to prevent white collar workers from going to the ball. Case study with the Fillon spouses, prosecuted for embezzlement of public funds; François, 68, employing his wife, Penelope, 66, since his election to the National Assembly in 1981 – he was then the youngest deputy in France, but already seasoned in the parliamentary tricks. For reasons of limitation, the criminal justice will only retain the period between 1998 and 2013: over these years alone, Penelope Fillon will have collected more than one million euros at the expense of the taxpayer (except during the lease of her husband to Matignon between 2007 and 2012).
In June 2020, the criminal court had sentenced the former Prime Minister at first instance to five years in prison (the maximum possible in terms of embezzlement of public funds), including two years firm: a mandatory passage through the prison box. On Monday, the Court of Appeal therefore reduced the sentence to four years in prison, one of which is firm, i.e. a sentence that can be adjusted by the sentencing judge under electronic bracelet, as the public prosecutor’s office had suggested at the hearing – Penelope being sentenced at first instance and on appeal to a simple suspended sentence. But the Fillon spouses intend to continue their criminal fight before the Court of Cassation, which postpones their possible placement…