French presidential candidate François Fillon vowed Wednesday not to withdraw from the presidential race, despite facing charges over claims that he arranged to have his family paid handsomely for jobs they never performed.
“I will not withdraw,” he told reporters at his campaign headquarters on Wednesday, adding that he had been the target of a “political assassination”.
“From the start, I have not been treated like anyone else facing the justice system,” Fillon said during a highly anticipated news conference, at which many observers had expected him to withdraw from the race.
“It’s not just me they are killing, but the French presidential election,” he said.