Questions threaten Fillon president bid

French conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon and his wife were questioned for five hours by police investigators on Monday as part of a probe into allegations that Penelope Fillon had been paid for fake jobs.

The allegations, which Fillon rejects, are sapping the popularity of the former prime minister and could shake up the April-May presidential contest, for which he has so far been the clear favorite.

Fillon said in a statement that he and his wife had provided investigators with information that would help "establish the truth on the work carried out by Mrs Fillon."

Such questioning is a normal step in a preliminary probe and not an indication of guilt.

France's financial prosecutor's office opened an investigation last week after the satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaine reported that Penelope Fillon had been paid 500,000 euros ($534,000) from state funds as a parliamentary assistant to her husband and his successor, but that it could find no evidence that she had actually done any work.

Fillon has said his wife's work was real, and that he is the victim of a smear campaign.

He is, however, in an increasingly tight race against centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen, according to surveys carried out since Le Canard Enchaine published its story.

The affair has dented the wholesome image that Fillon. Analysts have said it could also make it harder for him to stick to a platform of spending cuts and firing of civil servants.

The probe is at this stage only a preliminary investigation, the first step in the judicial process.

However, Fillon has said he will abandon his presidential bid if he is placed under formal criminal investigation.