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ELECTION

Defiant Fillon draws thousands for ‘last chance’ Paris rally – but is it too late?

Under-fire François Fillon rallied tens of thousands of supporters in Paris on Sunday in what was seen as a make or break day for his bid for the French presidency. Fillon vowed to carry on but behind the scenes his party appears to be making moves to replace him.

Defiant Fillon draws thousands for 'last chance' Paris rally - but is it too late?
Photo: AFP

“They say that I'm on my own. They want me to be on my own,” Fillon said, thanking the tens of thousands, including his wife Penelope, who had turned up to support him.

“Never give up the fight,” he told them whilst once again delivering a combative speech in which he defied the pressure to quit the French presidential campaign.

With dozens of members of his own party deserting Fillon's campaign, Sunday's rally on the Trocadero plaza opposite the Eiffel Tower was seen as a test of how much confidence remains in the candidate.

Speaking to those members of his party who had deserted him since he admitted he was to be charged over allegations he gave his wife and children “fake jobs”, the conservative said: “I have examined my conscience… they need to examine theirs.”

Fillon also admitted he had made “mistakes” and apologized to his supporters, telling them they had been forgotten amid the judicial investigation.  

“My first mistake was asking my wife to work for me,” he said, adding his “second mistake” was hesitating before speaking to his supporters about the allegations.

Organizers of the rally said 200,000 Fillon supporters were present by around 3pm – but police will likely have a very different figure, which will almost certainly be lower.

The figure of 200,000 was mocked on social media, with many pointing out that the plaza only fits a maximum of 50,000 people.

Whatever the true number, the Trocadero plaza was awash with thousands of French Tricolore flags, waved by supporters who had come from all over the country to defend their candidate.

Many spoke of the need to defend Fillon's programme suggesting, his plan for France was more important to them than the allegations he had helped his wife earn hundreds of thousands of euros for a “fake job” as a parliamentary assistant.

The crowd chanted “Fillon president!”, “Fillon hold on, France is behind you!” and sang numerous renditions of the Marseillaise.

“They attack me from everywhere. But I have to listen to this enormous crowd that pushed me forward,” said Fillon.

As he spoke the heavens opened and the rain, which had stopped briefly, began to fall again. A sea of umbrellas replaced the tricolores.

But even if the images of thousands of supporters will give Fillon ammunition to those who doubt him, his fate may be taken out of his hands by his own party.  

The Republicans party knows the danger is that an election that they once expected to win handily could slip away if Fillon remains their candidate.

Polls currently show he could be eliminated in the first round of the two-stage contest on April 23, leaving Le Pen and Macron to contest the May 7 runoff.

The Republicans' decision-making body is to meet Monday evening — a day earlier than planned — “to evaluate the situation”, the party said Saturday.

On Sunday it emerged that former president Nicolas Sarkozy and Alain Juppé, the man beat by Fillon in November's primary had talked on the phone to “discuss a way out of the crisis”.

Several other heavyweights in the Republicans party have also been meeting to discuss the way forward. Christian Estrosi, the president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region said a “respectful initiative” would be taken to persuade Fillon to step aside and allow Juppé to run in his place.

Many in his party resent the fact that Fillon initially said he would step down if charged over the fake jobs allegations, but then went back on his word.

He is due to meet magistrates on March 15th where he is expected to be placed under formal investigation.

Whether he will still be the official candidate of France's right by the time he meets those judges is far from clear.

Over the next couple of days Fillon's fate will likely be resolved.

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ELECTION

German Greens’ chancellor candidate Baerbock targeted by fake news

With Germany's Green party leading the polls ahead of September's general elections, the ecologists' would-be successor to Angela Merkel has become increasingly targeted by internet trolls and fake news in recent weeks.

German Greens' chancellor candidate Baerbock targeted by fake news
The Greens chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock on April 26th. Photo: DPA

From wild claims about CO2-emitting cats and dogs to George Soros photo collages, 40-year-old Annalena Baerbock has been the subject of a dizzying array of fake news, conspiracy theories and online attacks since she was announced as the Greens’ chancellor candidate in mid-April.

The latest polls have the Greens either ahead of or level with Merkel’s ruling conservatives, as the once fringe party further establishes itself as a leading electoral force in Europe’s biggest economy.

Baerbock herself also consistently polls higher than her conservative and centre-left rivals in the race to succeed Merkel, who will leave office after 16 years this autumn.

Yet her popularity has also brought about unwanted attention and a glut of fake news stories aimed at discrediting Baerbock as she bids to become Germany’s first Green chancellor.

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False claims

Among the false stories circulating about Baerbock is the bizarre claim that she wants to ban household pets in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Another fake story firmly denied by the party claimed that she defied rules on mask-wearing and social-distancing by embracing colleagues upon her nomination earlier this month.

Baerbock has also been presented as a “model student” of Hungarian billionaire George Soros – a hate figure for the European far-right and anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists – in a mocked-up social media graphic shared among others by a far-right MP.

More serious online attacks include a purported photo of Baerbock which in fact shows a similar-looking naked model.

The Greens’ campaign manager Michael Kellner said that the attempts to discredit Baerbock had “taken on a new dimension”, that “women are targeted more heavily by online attacks than men, and that is also true of our candidate”.

Greens co-leader Annalena Baerbock earlier this month. Photo: DPA

Other false claims about the party include reports of a proposed ban on barbecues, as well as plans to disarm the police and enforce the teaching of the Quran in schools.

While such reports are patently absurd, they are potentially damaging to Baerbock and her party as they bid to spring a surprise victory in September.

“She has a very real chance, but the coming weeks are going to be very important because Baerbock’s public image is still taking shape,” Thorsten Faas, a political scientist at Berlin’s Free University told AFP.

In a bid to fight back against the flood of false information, the party has launched a new “online fire service” to report fake news stories.

READ ALSO: Greens become ‘most popular political party’ in Germany

Russian disinformation

Yet stemming the tide is no easy job, with many of those who peddle disinformation now using private messaging services such as WhatsApp and Telegram rather than public platforms such as Facebook.

The pandemic and ongoing restrictions on public life will also make it harder for the campaign to push through their own narratives at public events.

Miro Dittrich of Germany’s Amadeu-Antonio anti-racism foundation claims that lockdown has “played a role” in the spread of fake news.

“People are isolated from their social environment and are spending a lot more time online,” he said.

Another factor is Russia, which has made Germany a primary target of its efforts to spread disinformation in Europe.

According to the European anti-disinformation platform EUvsDisinfo, Germany has been the target of 700 Russian disinformation cases since 2015, compared to 300 aimed at France and 170 at Italy.

As an outspoken critic of the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Germany and Russia, Baerbock may well become a target of such attacks during the election campaign.

By Mathieu FOULKES

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