Francois Fillon, former French Prime Minister, member of the Republicans political party and 2017 presidential election candidate of the French centre-right, waves to supporters at a campaign rally in Biarritz, France March 24, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvigna
Paris: With 30 days to go before the first round of France's two-stage presidential election, the incumbent Francois Hollande made a rare sortie into the campaign after conservative candidate Francois Fillon accused him of orchestrating a smear campaign.
Here are four things that happened in the campaign on Friday:
Hollande slams 'smear' charge
President Hollande lashed out at Fillon, saying the 63-year-old rightwinger had exceeded the bounds of "dignity and responsibility" with his claims.
"I don't want to enter the electoral debate... but there is a dignity, a responsibility to respect," the president said. "Fillon is beyond that now."
On Thursday, Fillon charged that Hollande had headed a "secret cell" that was responsible for revelations that have led to criminal charges against the candidate.
Fillon has slid from frontrunner to third in the presidential race following "fake jobs" allegations, with the first round looming on April 23.
Le Pen shares Putin's 'vision'
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen praised Vladimir Putin's "new vision" of the world after meeting the Russian president in Moscow.
"A new world has emerged in the past years," said the head of the eurosceptic National Front (FN). "This is Vladimir Putin's world, Donald Trump's world in the United States, Mr (Narendra) Modi's world in India."
Le Pen, 48, said she "shares with all these great nations a vision of cooperation and not one of subservience -- a hawkish vision that has too often been expressed by the European Union."
10,000-euro watch
Fillon confirmed he had received a watch worth over 10,000 euros (about $10,800) from an Italian-Swiss businessman friend, Pablo Victor Dana.
Dana said it was a totally "disinterested" present and Fillon stressed it was nothing unusual, saying "Mr. Dana has given watches to many other people".
Investigators were already looking into whether Fillon violated rules requiring lawmakers to declare gifts, after a French lawyer known for his close links to African leaders confirmed last week that he bought Fillon suits worth 13,000 euros.
