Francois Fillon's wife under formal investigation in fake jobs scandal

Penelope Fillon, the wife of French presidential candidate and former prime minister Francois Fillon, has been placed under formal investigation for her role in a fake jobs scandal.

Fillon himself has been under investigation since last month for allegedly paying hundreds of thousands of euros to his wife and other family members for jobs they did not carry out.

The former PM had been leading the polls for the April elections until recent months, when rivals Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen overtook him as he faced criticism for the practice.

Fillon also faces claims that he made payments to his two children, Marie and Charles, during his time as a senator in France.

It was reported on Tuesday evening that British-born Penelope is to be questioned on charges of embezzlement , misappropriation of public funds and aggravated fraud.

Earlier this year, Fillon referred to the investigation as a "political assassination", and accused French president Francois Hollande of being behind a plot to interfere with the results of the election.

Current polls have Macron slightly ahead of Le Pen as the vote on 23 April approaches, with the former on 26% and the latter on 25%. Fillon is currently in third place seven percentage points behind.

The first round of voting is due to take place on 23 April, with the second and decisive poll coming in May.