French voters still want scandal-hit Fillon to step down from presidential race: poll

Paris: Seven out of 10 French voters want conservative presidential candidate Francoi Fillon to step down, an opinion poll by Odoxa for France Info radio said on Friday, as a scandal over alleged "fake work" for his wife continued to weigh on his campaign.

Fillon has apologised to the French people over the way hundreds of thousands of euros in taxpayers` money were paid to his wife, but has denied that the work was fake and has said he did nothing illegal.

He has vowed to continue his campaign, despite losing his position as favourite to centrist rival Emmanuel Macron, and is contesting the legitimacy of an official investigation into the affair. 

The election is due to take place in April.