French presidential hopeful Francois Fillon today faced fresh allegations of misusing public funds following claims that his wife had been paid for a fake parliamentary job.
French investigative website Mediapart reported late yesterday that Fillon had pocketed money personally while a member of the French senate, which he left in 2007.
The website estimated he had "siphoned off" around 25,000 euros (USD 27,000) from funds earmarked for assistants in the French upper house.
The Journal de Dimanche newspaper said he had written seven cheques to himself between 2005 and 2007 for "a total of around 21,000 euros."
When contacted by AFP, a spokesperson for Fillon declined to comment, saying only that a judicial process was underway.
The claims add to mounting worries for the rightwing Republicans party candidate who had been considered the frontrunner for next April and May's election.
"How can we not consider that there are forces at work to silence me and to weaken my candidacy, or even try to prevent me from appearing?" the former prime minister said in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche newspaper on Sunday.
"It is a terrible plot, but I am sure that the justice system will not allow itself to be exploited by these defamatory allegations," added Fillon.
Recent polls have indicated support falling slightly for Fillon, whose nearest rivals are shown as far-right candidate Marine Le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron.
The ruling Socialist party is choosing its candidate on today, with ex-PM Manuel Valls competing with leftwinger Benoit Hamon.
Fillon is set to address a rally in Paris later Sunday.
French authorities have opened a preliminary inquiry into the allegations that Fillon's wife benefited from fake jobs, first published by Le Canard Enchaine weekly.
The newspaper said that his Welsh-born spouse Penelope had earned half a million euros from 1998-2012 working as his parliamentary assistant.
It said its reporters had been unable to find anyone who could testify to the work of the mother-of-five, who has always had a low-key role in her husband's career.
Fillon says his wife has always worked for him during his four-decade political career, carrying out tasks including speech editing and representing him at events.
He told the Journal du Dimanche that he would "not submit to a trial by media", adding that he had already handed over wage slips to investigators.
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