François Fillon Short biography
François Fillon is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was a prominent member of the Republican party and was the party's nominee for the 2017 presidential election, where he placed third in the first round of voting.
Fillon's political career began in 1981 when he was elected to the National Assembly as a member of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), which later became the Republicans. He held various ministerial positions under Presidents Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy, including Minister of Higher Education and Research, Minister of Social Affairs, Labour and Solidarity, and Minister of National Education.
Fillon is known for his conservative political views and his commitment to economic liberalism and fiscal conservatism. He has been described as a "Thatcherite" due to his support for free-market policies and his opposition to state intervention in the economy.
In 2017, Fillon was convicted of fraud and misuse of funds and sentenced to five years in prison, three of them suspended. He remains free pending the outcome of his appeal.
