French election: Isis threat sparks doubling of security around Francois Fillon

Tightened security: Francois Fillon
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Peter Allen19 April 2017

Security around French presidential candidate Francois Fillon and his British-born wife Penelope was doubled today after an image of him appeared on an Islamic State video threatening to kill a would-be head of state.

The conservative Republicans candidate was surrounded by weapons and ammunition in the photo montage put together by two terrorist suspects arrested in Marseille yesterday.

They had pledged to murder a politician running in the election that begins with a first round on Sunday.

Mr Fillon is a fierce critic of radical Islam, and has pledged to punish anyone “who takes up arms against their country” by stripping them of their nationality.

He was due to speak in the northern city of Lille this evening, where police sources confirmed that security had “doubled around the candidate”.

This will mean more officers, including snipers, standing guard and increased security checks on all those attending the rally in the Grand Palais.

Mr Fillon and those closest to him, including Mrs Fillon, will be surrounded by up to 12 officers at a time, said the source.

It has been a difficult campaign for the pair, who have both been indicted in a fake jobs scandal that could end up with them being imprisoned.

Mrs Fillon, who is from Wales, is not guaranteed to be in Lille today. She has given only one newspaper interview and severely limited her public appearances since the so-called Penelopegate affair broke in January.

Despite this, the couple remain confident that they have a chance of becoming President and First Lady following one of the closest elections for years.

British intelligence officers helped foil the ‘Day of the Jackal’-style plot by suspected Islamic State fanatics Clement Baur, 23, and Mahiedine Merabet, 29, to kill a candidate.

Their rented Marseille apartment was full of weapons and so-called “Mother of Satan” TATP explosives when it was raided yesterday.

French Interior Ministry sources confirmed that UK officers “tipped us off” about Baur and Merabet, but there has been no confirmation that their specific target was Mr Fillon.

The pair were detained under arrest warrants for terrorist criminal association, according to a police document.

Far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen was due to speak in Marseille today, and security will be extremely tight for her visit too.

Polls suggest she will win through to the second round of the election where she will be defeated by independent candidate Emmanuel Macron on May 7.

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