François Fillon found guilty: what penalties does he face?

The Court of Cassation rendered its decision this Wednesday on the François Fillon case concerning fictitious jobs. If the former prime minister is found guilty, a retrial has been ordered.

This Wednesday, the Court of Cassation ruled on the fictitious jobs case concerning François Fillon. The sentence decided in 2022 of four years of imprisonment, one year of which is final, as well as a fine of 375,000 euros and ten years of ineligibility was ultimately not recorded. If the Court of Cassation definitively declared François Fillon guilty, it ordered a new trial to be held before a court of appeal to redefine the sentence. The legal saga is therefore not over.

“The Court of Cassation confirms the decision of the Court of Appeal in that it recognizes the guilt of the deputy, his wife and his deputy, in particular for embezzlement of public funds and complicity,” announced the high court in a communicated. However, an appeal court will have to reassess “the nature of the sentences to be imposed against the deputy”. “A judge can only pronounce a prison sentence without suspension if the seriousness of the offense and the personality of its perpetrator make this sentence essential and if any other sanction is manifestly inadequate. (…) However, by condemning the deputy, the appeal judge did not explain how a sanction other than non-suspended imprisonment would have been manifestly inadequate", justifies the Court of Cassation.

Furthermore, the amount of damages, up to 800,000 euros, that the MP and his wife had to pay to the National Assembly will also be reviewed. “The judges found that if the remuneration paid was clearly disproportionate to the work provided, it was not devoid of any consideration.” Conversely, Penelope Fillon's sentence of two years in prison, two years of ineligibility and a fine of 375,000 euros and that of Marc Joulaud, elected from Sarthe, was given to three years in prison and five years of imprisonment. ineligibility were confirmed.

It marked the 2017 presidential election following revelations from Le Canard Enchainé. Penelope Fillon, wife of the former presidential candidate, was accused of having benefited from a fictitious job for several years, paid more than 500,000 euros, as a parliamentary attaché to her husband and then to the substitute for the latter, Marc Joulaud.

The spouses had contested this decision, with François Fillon considering in particular that he did not have the right to a “fair” trial. The latter's lawyers assured that such a conviction was not justified, BFMTV recalled. During a hearing on February 28, Me François Henri-Briard affirmed that François Fillon "did not benefit from an impartial trial". They defended their client with nine arguments on which the Court of Cassation had to rule this Wednesday. The high court had to above all examine compliance with the rules of law and not the merits of the case.

Several outcomes were possible. If the Court of Cassation agreed with the lawyers, it could annul the established sentences and order a new trial, the third. That's what she ultimately decided. Otherwise, the politician would have seen his sentence pronounced. In this case, he would have been placed under an electronic bracelet at his home for a year and would have had to pay the required amounts. The couple's last option to contest would have been to turn to the European Court of Human Rights in the name of the right to fair justice. The Court of Cassation could also have partially reversed its decision without requiring a new trial but by making some modifications.