Old-school satirical paper upends French presidential race

FILE - In this Jan. 29, 2017 file photo, conservative French presidential candidate Francois Fillon applauds while his wife Penelope looks on as they attend a campaign meeting in Paris. Fillon is slowly finding his dream of winning the race under water. And it’s because of the revelations of old-school satirical newspaper “Le Canard Enchaine,” or “The Chained Duck.” The weekly’s claims that Fillon’s political clout helped secure handsomely paid jobs for his wife, Penelope, and two of their children are the just the latest scoops from the 102-year-old newspaper which is showing that traditional gumshoe reporting and the ink-and-paper format still have value in the increasingly online world. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File) FILE - In this Jan. 29, 2017 file photo, conservative French presidential candidate Francois Fillon applauds while his wife Penelope looks on as they attend a campaign meeting in Paris. Fillon is slowly finding his dream of winning the race under water. And it’s because of the revelations of old-school satirical newspaper “Le Canard Enchaine,” or “The Chained Duck.” The weekly’s claims that Fillon’s political clout helped secure handsomely paid jobs for his wife, Penelope, and two of their children are the just the latest scoops from the 102-year-old newspaper which is showing that traditional gumshoe reporting and the ink-and-paper format still have value in the increasingly online world. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

By Associated Press February 1, 2017 4 min read

PARIS (AP) – For a small duck it packs one hell of a peck.

One-time French presidential front-runner Francois Fillon is slowly finding his dream of winning the Elysee Palace under water.

And it’s because of the revelations of one old-school, eight-page satirical newspaper with ink that comes off on your hands: “Le Canard Enchaine,” or “The Chained Duck.”

The dirt-digging weekly’s claims that Fillon’s political clout helped secure handsomely paid jobs for his wife, Penelope, and two of their children are the just the latest scoops from the 102-year-old newspaper which is showing that traditional gumshoe reporting and the ink-and-paper format still have value in the increasingly online world.

With its old-school typography, puns on every page and thick, rough paper, “Le Canard” may seem like an unlikely source of hard-nosed political journalism.