Welsh-born Penelope Fillon next to husband Francois Fillon at a rally in December. Photo: Phillippe Lopez/AFPFrench presidential hopeful Francois Fillon was counting the cost on Friday of claims his wife had a fake job in a scandal overshadowing this weekend's vote to pick a leftwing candidate. France's national financial prosecutor has opened a preliminary inquiry into the claims that she was paid from an allowance available to her husband as a member of parliament. The claims are embarrassing to Fillon, whose main campaign pledge is to cut 500,000 jobs from the French civil service. Valls has argued that the basic income plan would "ruin" France and that a Hamon victory would spell "certain defeat" in the presidential race.

Source: The Local January 28, 2017 07:55 UTC