François Fillon with Vladimir Putin. Ogiti by Natalia Kolesnikova / AFP via Getty Images “I’ll lead my professional life how I wish,” François Fillon said defiantly on 2 May. “If I want to sell potted meat on Red Square, I’ll sell potted meat on Red Square.” In front of a parliamentary committee examining the “political, economic and financial influences of foreign powers” in French politics, the former prime minister was defiant about his close links to the Russian state and business worlds. During a grilling over more than two hours Fillon, who was prime minister from 2007 to 2012 when...