Fillon’s bid for the presidency unravelled after allegations surfaced that he had paid his British-born wife Penelope hundreds of thousands of euros for doing little, if any, work as his parliamentary assistant.

“The payment was disproportionate to the work done,” the chief judge said, reading the court’s ruling. “Mrs. Fillon was hired for a position that was without use.”

A consummate political insider who was prime minister under Nicolas Sarkozy, Fillon had been the frontrunner in the election race when the allegations surfaced. At the time, he denied wrongdoing, resisted party pressure to pull his candidacy, and was eliminated in the first round of the vote.

The court also convicted Fillon’s wife of complicity to embezzle and conceal of public money.

The court is due to hand down a sentence shortly. (Reporting by Tangi Salaun; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Giles Elgood)