French judges have formally charged Les Republicains presidential candidate Francois Fillon for embezzling public funds in an ongoing investigation into accusations that he paid his wife for government work she did not do. If Fillon continues his campaign for the Elysee, he will be the first major candidate on a French ballot with a pending trial.

It's unlikely Fillon will see trial before the two-round presidential elections that will name the next president on May 7. If elected, the French constitution would grant Fillon immunity since it does not allow the president to face trial while in office. Prosecutors would suspend the case until the end of his five-year mandate.

Fillon's wife, Penelope, originally hails from Wales

However, his wife Penelope Fillon, whom Fillon allegedly employed in the fake job at the center of the scandal, would not have the same protection. She goes before judges later this month and could face charges of hiding embezzled money.

But polls and analysts suggest Fillon won't even make it past the first round of voting. According to political researcher Romain Lachat, who studies electoral behavior, the charges will not change much for the rest of Fillon's campaign.

What you need to know about Francois Fillon and "Penelopegate" Frontrunner no more Many expected Francois Fillon to be a shoo-in for the presidency. The former French prime minister easily won the conservative primary with 67 percent of the vote. But then Penelopegate hit. Weekly newspaper Canard Enchaine reported that Fillon's wife Penelope and two of his children had received close to one million euros in salaries from Fillon, paid by the state. Fillon's popularity tumbled.

What you need to know about Francois Fillon and "Penelopegate" Working for her husband? It is not illegal in France to hire family members as parliamentary assistants - provided they have real jobs. Fillon's wife was paid 830,000 euros ($900,000) as a parliamentary assistant for 15 years, working (or - as some have suggested - "working") for Fillon and his replacement in parliament. Police are currently investigating whether Penelope provided services for the salary she received.

What you need to know about Francois Fillon and "Penelopegate" Keeping it in the family Reporters also revealed that Fillon paid his two oldest children 84,000 euros for working as assistants between 2005 and 2007. Fillon argued that he had hired Marie and Charles Fillon for their legal expertise - though the two were still in law school when they had jobs with their father.

What you need to know about Francois Fillon and "Penelopegate" More accusations Penelope was also employed at an art magazine from May 2012 to December 2013, where she was paid roughly 5,000 euros a month. The owner of the magazine had previously been recommended for France's highest honor, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, by then-prime minister Francois Fillon. Fillon has said that these two facts were unrelated.

What you need to know about Francois Fillon and "Penelopegate" A smear campaign? Fillon has repeatedly denied charges that he used "fake jobs" to enrich his family. He has said that he employed his wife and children because he trusted them and accused the media of running a smear campaign against him. Nevertheless, Penelopegate has severely damaged the campaign of the 63-year old, who has sold himself to French voters as an honest family man keen on cutting public spending.

What you need to know about Francois Fillon and "Penelopegate" Certainly not a first The accusations against Fillon are hardly the first of their kind in France. Ex-President Jacques Chirac was found guilty in 2011 of employing party members in "fake jobs" as mayor of Paris. Former president Nicolas Sarkozy is being investigated for illegal campaign financing, and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen is suspected of paying officials in her far-right party with EU funds. Author: Mara Bierbach



"The indictment is not a surprise. Everybody assumed this outcome would arrive," Lachat said. "The accusations won't go away and the damage will stay until the end of the campaign. It won't change the dynamic or his line of defense."

The scandal has been a gift to Front National candidate Marine Le Pen and self-proclaimed independent centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron, the 39-year-old leader of the movement "En Marche!" and outgoing President Francois Hollande's former economy minister. Fillon's corruption headlines boosted Macron from his third-place position in the polls and he has since been trading first and second place with Le Pen.

In the latest poll by the French Institute of Public Opinion (Ifop), Le Pen leads round one at 26.5 percent of the vote with Macron trailing her at 25 percent. Fillon is a full six points behind in third at 19 percent.

Only two progress to runoff

With the two dark horse candidates taking the lead, Lachat says voter opinion and support are more volatile than if it were two establishment candidates.

"Voting intentions are more likely to vary in coming weeks than they would in a traditional race," Lachat said. "Macron has a stronghold at the moment but his supporters don't seem to be most convinced of their choice, contrary to Marine Le Pen, who has a large base of supporters."

Nationalist Marine Le Pen's strong showing in the polls has other French voters on edge

Le Pen faces her own legal troubles for similar accusations of misusing public funds to pay her personal bodyguard as a European Parliament assistant, but she has refused to meet judges.

Macron is also a satellite figure in an investigation into a case of favoritism. Business France, a unit within his former economy ministry, allegedly gave a large contract to an events company without a public call to tender.

Fillon's family 'affaire'

Fillon has continually denied any wrongdoing after the satirical weekly Le Canard Enchainé originally made accusations in January that Fillon paid his wife with taxpayers' money for a parliamentary assistant job for which there was little proof that she worked. Then it was revealed that he had also paid two of his children generous sums well above minimum wage as interns.

Perhaps with an eye on poor poll numbers, Alain Juppe has said he won't step in as a replacement candidate

The candidate apologized and said that perhaps it wasn't the best decision, but that he had done nothing illegal and that it was the the system that must change. In the beginning, he offered to withdraw his candidacy if prosecutors opened a formal investigation. Shortly thereafter, when officials actually opened the case, he backpedaled on that statement.

Fillon has since made it clear on multiple occasions that no matter what happens he will see his campaign through until the bitter end.

The presidential hopeful has lost high-ranking staffers in the fallout, including a campaign director. He has faced calls to withdraw from the race to make way for an alternative candidate. But the most obvious choice, Alain Juppé, the runner-up in the primaries last fall, put rumors to rest that he would fight Fillon's losing battle as the candidate for Les Republicains.

Trial by media?

Fillon's relationship with the press has become increasingly contentious since the scandal broke. He has called the accusations and investigation a "political assassination."

He was originally scheduled to appear before judges on Wednesday, but requested to move up his convocation by a day in order to preempt and minimize a media frenzy.

"A troupe of 300 journalists isn't compatible with the vision of justice I have," Fillon's lawyer Antonin Levy told French television. "There is a form of media pressure that I wanted to cut short, that harms the presumption of innocence."

Former President Nicolas Sarkozy of the same right-wing party was also recently indicted on charges of illegal campaign financing. If Fillon is convicted, he will join other high-profile center-right officials to receive guilty verdicts for corruption, including Jacques Chirac and Alain Juppé. Those politicians only received suspended sentences.