Poll shows French voters not convinced by Fillon's defence over 'fake pay' allegations

PARIS (Reuters) - A large majority of French voters are not convinced by conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon's defense over allegations that he paid his wife for a fake job, a poll showed on Tuesday. Fillon denies any wrongdoing and has called the allegations "abject." The Elabe poll for BFM TV showed 76 percent are not convinced by the former prime minister's arguments. Satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaine reported that Penelope Fillon had been paid some 831,440 euros for many years of employment as a parliamentary assistant to Fillon and then to his successor but could find no trace of her having done any work. The poll was carried out online on Monday and Tuesday among 974 people. ($1 = 0.9270 euros) (Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Ingrid Melander)