Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy reacts during a visit in Poissy, near Paris, France, September 6, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

PARIS — Former French President and conservative politician Nicolas Sarkozy has called for a meeting with Francois Fillon and Alain Juppe, to discuss current problems regarding Fillon's presidential election campaign.

Sarkozy, who published a statement on his official Twitter feed, said the aim of the meeting was to ensure a "dignified and credible way out from a situation which cannot last any longer and which is the source of deep concerns among French people".

The Republicans conservative party has appeared to be at war with themselves less than 50 days from the presidential election as Francois Fillon has clung on to his struggling, scandal-tainted campaign even as senior party members fight to oust him as their candidate.

Once the frontrunner, Fillon is mired in a scandal over hundreds of thousands of euros of public money he paid his wife to be his parliamentary assistant. He denies allegations she did little work for the money, but suffered a serious blow last week when he learned he could be placed under formal investigation for misuse of public funds.

Reuters