The French presidential election just got even crazier

French presidential candidate Francois Fillon.
(Image credit: MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/Getty Images)

America isn't the only democracy that has chaotic elections. In France, conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon is officially facing preliminary charges Tuesday after allegedly paying his wife thousands of euros for parliamentary assistant work she might not have actually done.

Fillon — who The Week's Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry describes as "a kind of French Marco Rubio" — previously said he would drop out of the race if the charges were formally brought against him, but he later walked back the promise after claiming his Republican party does not have an alternative to him as a nominee, The Republic reports.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.