A Paris court sentenced ex-PM Francois Fillon to five years in prison, and his wife got three years' jail suspended in a 'fake jobs' case, BBC reported.

Each was also fined €375,000.

Their trial kicked off on February 26. The ex-MP was found to have paid his wife €831,400.

"The payment was disproportionate to the work done," the chief judge noted. "Mrs Fillon was hired for a position that was without use."

She was also charged with complicity to embezzle and conceal public funds, the edition noted.