French Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux resigned Tuesday over allegations that he hired his daughters for multiple parliamentary aide positions for which they did not do all the work.

The presidential palace promptly announced that Matthias Fekl had been picked to replace Le Roux.

The girls were still in high school when the first of the contracts began, and they continued working for him throughout their university studies, but reports say that the daughters did not do all of the work for which they were paid.

Le Roux admitted to paying his daughters as parliamentary aides during their summer vacations, but did not admit to having done anything illegal.

The French financial prosecutor’s office, the agency charged with fighting corruption and financial and tax wrongdoing, said in a statement that it had opened an investigation into the allegations Tuesday – just hours before Le Roux resigned.

The report alleges that the daughters earned a total of $59,000 between 2009 and 2016. French lawmakers are allowed to hire family members as aides, provided they do tangible work.

The scandal echoes one of presidential candidate Francois Fillon, who has seen his voter base diminish since allegations surfaced that he hired his wife and paid her for work she did not do.
…