François Fillon, the former French Prime Minister, was definitively convicted in June 2025 of embezzlement and misuse of public funds related to fictitious jobs for his wife Penelope at the National Assembly, resulting in a four-year suspended sentence, a €375,000 fine, and a five-year ineligibility period.

Fillon was previously convicted in 2022 by the Paris Court of Appeal, receiving a four-year suspended prison sentence, a €375,000 fine, and a five-year disqualification, with earlier sentences including longer prison terms and ten years of ineligibility.

Despite these convictions, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rejected Fillon’s appeal, stating that allegations of bias and lack of independence in the investigation were unsubstantiated and that the court does not interfere in national judicial processes unless conclusions are arbitrary or manifestly unreasonable.

The ECHR emphasized that it does not serve as a fourth instance of jurisdiction and upheld the fairness of the French judiciary, dismissing claims of judicial bias and undue pressure from prosecutors.

Fillon criticized the French judiciary’s independence during his trial, citing concerns about pressure from the public prosecutor, although the court found no evidence of bias.

The timing of the case was pivotal, as Fillon was campaigning as a clean and experienced leader in 2017, but the scandal severely damaged his political reputation, leading to his elimination in the first round of the presidential election with only 20% of the vote.

This case is part of broader political tensions involving other high-profile French politicians like Nicolas Sarkozy, who has also challenged the ECHR after his own convictions, reflecting ongoing debates about the court’s influence on French politics.

Fillon and his allies challenged the fairness of their trials before the ECHR in August 2024, claiming lack of judicial independence and prosecutor pressure, but the court found their claims unfounded, affirming the fairness of French judicial procedures.

During his 2017 presidential campaign, Fillon threatened to withdraw France from the European Court of Human Rights, criticizing its involvement in social issues and human rights matters, which he viewed as intrusive into national sovereignty.

The scandal led Fillon to withdraw from frontline politics, and he now works in the private sector, marking the end of his political career.

This legal defeat likely marks the end of Fillon’s long legal battles, which are part of a broader wave of high-profile investigations involving other politicians like Sarkozy, who is also serving a sentence for related convictions.

Nicolas Sarkozy, similarly convicted and imprisoned, has also challenged the ECHR after his own legal convictions, proposing amendments to the European Convention on Human Rights to limit the court’s influence.