Francois Fillon
Francois Fillon reacts during a news conference about a 'fake job' scandal Benoit Tessier/Reuters

Following French Presidential candidate Francois Fillon's claims that he is unable to put money aside at the end of the month on a monthly salary estimated at €22,900 (£19,500, $24,400), a satirical online magazine has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help the politician make ends meet.

Fillon was placed under formal investigation earlier this month over an alleged fake jobs scandal after it was revealed that he had paid his wife more than €810,000 (£700,000) as his aide and his two children a combined €92,000 (£80,000) to work as parliamentary assistants.

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During an interview on BFM TV this morning (3 April), Fillon, who is running for centre-left Les Republicains party, was asked "Do you manage to put money aside", to which he answered "No".

Radio host Jean-Jacques Bourdin was referring to the fact that only some 35% of French people manage to save money every month, according to a recent survey that he did not cite.

According to Liberation newspaper, Fillon earns some €23,000 a month. This includes €7,210 gross for his MP role since 2012, as reported by the National Assembly's website. Added to this income, Fillon receives €5,840 gross per month as parliamentary expense allowance – which does not cover remuneration of parliamentary assistants.

On top of the monthly €13,050, Fillon also earns an unknown income as CEO of consulting firm 2F Conseil. According to data published by the High Authority for the transparency of public administration, Fillon earned €275,000 in 2016 – €22,900 per month.

Following his comment this morning, satirical magazine Legorafi launched a Leetchi crowdfunding campaign to support Fillon financially. At the time of publication, €1 623,81 had been raised.

According to the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Research (Insee), French people on average earned €20,670 per year in 2014 – some €1,722 per month. In 2017, the minimum wage was €1,480,27 per month for a 35h working hours per week.

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