‘He’ll know how to handle Trump and Putin’ Fillon spokesman defends Republican

Mr Chatel told the French daily Le Monde said:“Mr Fillon is by far the most electable candidate. He is the only one who will be able to represent France on the international scene and who has the skills needed to run the country. He is also the only one who will be able to negotiate with the likes of Mr Trump and Mr Putin.”

Mr Fillon’s spokesperson, a former education minister under Nicolas Sarkozy, added “all was not lost” for the beleaguered candidate, who has repeatedly refused to drop out of the presidential race despite being placed under formal investigation for misuse of public funds earlier this month.

Mr Chatel also launched a blistering attack on independent centrist Emmanuel Macron, outgoing president François Hollande’s 39-year-old former protégé, whom he said lacked the vision and experience needed to run the country.

He said: “Mr Macron is a trainee politician… he’s an amateur. He doesn’t know France. He knows nothing about French history, culture and geography.”

Mr Chatel was in fact referring to two of the centrist’s biggest blunders. Mr Macron recently erroneously called French Guiana – a region of France on the north-east coast of South America –  an “island,” and qualified French colonial rule in North Africa as a “crime against humanity,” sparking nationwide outrage.

The hardline right-winger added Mr Macron – who famously quit his post as Mr Hollande’s economy minister in order to create his own party and run for president – was a “Socialist in disguise” and a “tepid candidate”.

Mr Chatel further added that, if voted into power in May, Mr Fillon would “get France back on its feet” and “restore the rule of law”.