{"id":8283,"date":"2017-03-04T08:35:48","date_gmt":"2017-03-04T08:35:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/france-election-fillon-campaign-manager-quits-along-with-allied-party\/"},"modified":"2017-03-04T08:35:48","modified_gmt":"2017-03-04T08:35:48","slug":"france-election-fillon-campaign-manager-quits-along-with-allied-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/france-election-fillon-campaign-manager-quits-along-with-allied-party\/","title":{"rendered":"France election: Fillon campaign manager quits along with allied party"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"ConservativeImage copyright AP
Image caption Francois Fillon refuses to stand down despite increasing pressure <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

French presidential candidate Francois Fillon has suffered another blow as his campaign manager quit late on Friday.<\/p>\n

Patrick Stefanini said his resignation will take effect on Sunday night.<\/p>\n

Earlier, the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) called on Mr Fillon's Republican Party to choose another candidate in the wake of a scandal over payments.<\/p>\n

It is alleged his wife and children were paid for parliamentary work they never carried out.<\/p>\n

Details of his campaign chief's departure emerged when the French newspaper Journal du Dimanche published Mr Stefanini's resignation letter. <\/p>\n

In it, he gave two reasons - writing that he had advised Mr Fillon to cease his campaign after an investigation began into his financial affairs. <\/p>\n

After Mr Fillon decided to continue, he found himself in a minority in his political team, he wrote, and "no longer in the best position to lead your campaign".<\/p>\n

The other reason, he wrote, was that Mr Fillon could no longer be certain of not being eliminated in the first round of voting.<\/p>\n

Image copyright AFP
Image caption Patrick Stefanini, left, said the victory of Mr Fillon, right, was no longer certain <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mr Fillon has already lost several key members of his campaign team, and several MPs from his own party are campaigning to replace him with Alain Juppe.<\/p>\n

Mr Juppe lost the November primary election to Mr Fillon. <\/p>\n

But despite the increasing pressure, Mr Fillon, 62, denies any wrongdoing and says he is the victim of a "political assassination".<\/p>\n

The loss of support from the UDI represents a major challenge for his campaign.<\/p>\n

The BBC's Paris correspondent, Hugh Schofield, said that while the UDI is a small party with 28 MPs, its alliance with the Republicans is important.<\/p>\n

As a centrist party, it broadens the Republicans' base, he said.<\/p>\n

UDI leader Jean-Christophe Lagarde said Mr Fillon had become a liability, and that as long as he was a candidate, the centre-right was heading for certain failure. <\/p>\n

Separately, National Front candidate Marine Le Pen has refused to attend a summons over misuse of EU funds.<\/p>\n

Her legal advisers said she would not attend before the election. "Of course she won't go," her lawyer told reporters.<\/p>\n

Image copyright EPA
Image caption Ms Le Pen maintains the allegations against her are politically motivated <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ms Le Pen's party is accused of misusing more than \u20ac300,000 (\u00a3257,000; $321,000) of European Parliament funding.<\/p>\n

As a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), Ms Le Pen is immune to prosecution during sessions of the parliament - a measure designed to ensure the independence of members and protect them from pressure in form of legal threats.<\/p>\n