French centre-right presidential candidate Francois Fillon on Thursday accused President Francois Hollande, a Socialist, of orchestrating media leaks that have dented his image as a scandal free leader a month ahead of the key vote. 


Hollande immediately condemned in the “strongest terms the untruthful allegations of Francois Fillon,” the presidency said in a statement. 


“The executive has never intervened in any judicial process,” the Elysee presidential palace said. 


Fillon in a television interview late Thursday said Hollande headed a “secret cell” that was responsible for sensational leaks and called it a “scandal involving the state.” 


“It’s been two months that the press had been flinging mud at me,” he told France 2, saying he often thought of former Socialist prime minister Pierre Beregovoy who had been investigated for an interest-free loan and later committed suicide. 


Fillon said that, according to a soon-to-be-published book by “journalists who are far from being my friends”, Hollande had obtained the contents of wiretaps linked to judicial investigations “which is totally illegal.” 


“We were seeking a secret cell and we have found it,” he said, referring to the source behind a slew of accusations of wrongdoing revealed by the media, notably by the Canard Enchaine newspaper. 


One of the authors of the book, Didier Hassoux, disputed this claim, saying Fillon was a candidate on the ropes who was making untenable claims. 


“The only person who believes there is a secret cell at the Elysee is Francois Fillon,” he said, adding that the secret cell “does not exist

Source: NNA