Fillon pledges to open inquiry into Hollande's "black cell"

French presidential candidate Francois Fillon on Monday said if elected, he would launch a parliamentary inquiry into allegations that President Francois Hollande intervened in the judicial process in relation with a probe into his wife's fake job.

"Prosecutors should take up this case. If they don't do so and if I am elected president, there will be a parliamentary commission of inquiry," Fillon said.

Speaking to BFMTV news channel, the conservative contender, placed under formal investigation over public find misuse, said he was a victim of "manipulation" by France's "highest authorities."

However, he said he could not prove this.

In a recent television interview, Fillon accused Hollande of heading a "secret cell" aimed at leaking sensitive data and of ordering leaks of compromising materials about his wife fake job as a parliamentary aide.

The president's office rejected Fillon's "false allegations," which it said "have no basis and cause an intolerable disturbance in the presidential campaign which calls for dignity, serenity and responsibility."

Fillon, 63, once the presidential front-runner, lost steam after French satirical weekly, Le Canard Enchaine, reported he paid his wife and two of his five children about 1 million euros (1.066 million U.S. dollars) for jobs as parliamentary assistants. However, there was no evidence to show she really worked, the report added.

A defiant Fillon has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and insisted on his innocence.

"If I had the slightest doubt about my guilt I wouldn't be a candidate in the presidential election," he said. Endit