Fillon Says He Won't Give in to Pressure to Step Down From Race
(Bloomberg) -- Francois Fillon said he won't give in to pressure from France's Republican party and that he'll stay in the race for the presidential election following a rally he said proved his legitimacy as a candidate.
“No one has the power to force me to step down, it's my decision,” Fillon said during an interview on France 2 television Sunday evening. “Any change so close to the elections is necessarily doomed to fail.” He declared his innocence against allegations that he hired his wife as a parliamentary aide though she did no work. His appearance had remained uncertain all day after the TV interview was canceled and then rescheduled.Â
At the rally, thousands turned up on Place du Trocadero opposite the Eiffel Tower as heavy rain subsided in the French capital to support the conservative candidate. While leaders from his Republican party are meeting on Monday to decide on his future, Fillon said he wouldn't let the party push him aside.
Potential charges of embezzlement against him are “unfair,” Fillon told cheering supporters, with claims of innocence he reiterated during the evening news. The turn out at Trocadero confirms his wide victory at the November Republican party primary, he said on France 2.
Party executives brought forward a meeting planned on Tuesday amid growing support for former prime minister Alain Juppe to take his place. Juppe said he would have an announcement at 10:30 a.m. Monday.Â
Earlier Sunday, Christian Estrosi, a longtime Republican lawmaker and major political figure in the south, said on BFM TV that the party needed to find a “respectful” exit for Fillon. Former President Nicolas Sarkozy and Juppe, who had both run in the primary against Fillon, spoke Saturday night about ways to end the crisis, Agence France-Presse reported.
“I don't want Fillon to give up,” said rally attendee Cornelly d'Aucy, 80. “We've been supporting him since the very beginning. His program is marvelous and I'm voting for it for the country's future and for my grand-children.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Angeline Benoit in Paris at abenoit4@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jerrold Colten at jcolten@bloomberg.net, Anne Swardson
-
Navigating Energy Crossroads: S Jaishankar's Call For Diversified Supply Chains At G20 Ministerial Meeting
As geopolitical fault lines continue to test maritime trade routes and commodity flows, Jaishankar's message remains pertinent: true economic resilience requires open markets, protected transit lines, and a genuine commitment to multilateral cooperation rather than coercion.
-
Indians Are Travelling, But Not Every Journey Is A Holiday | The Week In Whys
Pilgrims, patients and working women are the real travellers, and the system hasn't quite caught up with them.
-
Getting To Work Costs Women More | The Reason Why
It is not just about women paying more than men. It is about women paying much more in cities than in villages.
-
AI Bias In Investing Cannot Be Eliminated, But It Can Be Governed
Framing is a particularly important example as identical financial information presented in terms of gains rather than losses can lead an LLM to reach a different assessment.
-
Joining The Dots | Dark Skies, Steady Diya: Why Hope Holds This Diwali
With war, a weak rupee and foreign outflows weighing on sentiment, policymakers at the NDTV World Summit and market veterans at NDTV Profit Ignite: Diwali Edition offered the same advice: stay invested and filter out the noise.
-
The Curious Case of Equitas Small Finance Bank And A CEO Who Quit For Stock
PN Vasudevan believes persistent investor concerns over a perceived conflict of interest had become a governance overhang on Equitas Small Finance Bank's stock, even as the lender improved profitability and asset quality.
-
Talking Points This Week: AI Cash Burn, A Tiger Comeback And An India That Still Finds Its Own Path
India is not immune to higher oil or tighter global liquidity, yet its earnings base is broader, its domestic policy levers are still available.
-
Foreign Investors Own Half Of HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. An LTCG Cut Could Matter Most Here
Foreign portfolio investors have US$115 billion parked in HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank. If the government cuts long-term capital gains tax, Jefferies says returning foreign money could land here first.
-
'Never Seen This Level Of Negativity': Sandeep Tandon Says The Next Rally May Be Closer Than You Think
Veteran investor Sandeep Tandon says foreign selling is easing, large-caps are due a comeback and mid-caps are crowded, while he turns positive on gold, power and pharma this Diwali.
