France's Fillon makes appeal to voters, retains party backing

Conservative French presidential candidate Francois Fillon appealed to voters on Wednesday via a newspaper column to back his campaign, after losing his place as frontrunner over accusations of fake jobs for members of his family. Seeking to regain the offensive and show he had the backing of his party's stalwarts, Fillon on Tuesday visited the Champagne region, flanked by local member of parliament Francois Baroin, whose name had been mooted as a possible 'plan B' candidate.