Updated

French presidential candidate Francois Fillon is defending himself — again — after his conservative party posted a caricature online with anti-Semitic overtones and a newspaper raised questions about expensive suits he received as a gift.

Once the front-runner in the race for the April 23-May 7 election, Fillon is presenting a new version of his campaign platform Monday in an effort to claw back support.

An official with the Republicans party is facing disciplinary procedures over the online caricature of rival candidate Emmanuel Macron. Fillon called it "unacceptable" and said it "evoked a dark epoch of our history," referring to France's collaboration with the Nazis.

Meanwhile, Fillon defended his clothing on Europe-1 radio Monday as his "private life," after a report suggesting possible conflict of interest around the gifted suits.