FRENCH conservative presidential hopeful Francois Fillon refused to pull out of the contest yesterday, despite receiving a summons for allegedly giving fake parliamentary jobs to his family.

Calling the investigation a “political assassination,” Mr Fillon urged his supporters to “resist” and said he would leave it up to French voters to decide his fate.

The Republican candidate called an emergency party meeting after receiving the legal summons and postponed a campaign appearance, prompting media speculation that he would withdraw his candidacy.

“I will not surrender,” he told reporters at his campaign headquarters later. “I will not withdraw.”

The allegations that Mr Fillon’s wife and adult children were employed by him as parliamentary assistants — at public expense — but never did any work first surfaced in January.

He initially pledged to abandon his presidential bid if charged, but he later said that he was determined to let voters judge him rather than investigators. “France is greater than my errors,” he said yesterday.