Le Pen aides taken into French police custody

[TomSea]

Le Pen aides taken into French police custody

French police detained far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen's bodyguard and chief of staff in custody on Wednesday for questioning over alleged misuse of European Union funds to pay parliamentary assistants, Le Pen's lawyer said.

Le Pen denounced the latest move in a financial sleaze case that has landed her in the spotlight alongside another leading candidate, Francois Fillon, a right-winger being investigated over public funds he paid to his wife and children.

Wary that her image and lead position in polls of voting intentions could be hurt, Le Pen on Wednesday said she was convinced voters would not fall for what her lawyer Marcel Ceccaldi called a "manipulation" designed to destabilize her.

Continued: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-election-lepen-idUSKBN1610XQ