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IMF former chief back home after sex scandal
Source: Agencies |
September 5, 2011, Monday
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DOMINIQUE Strauss-Kahn returned home to France yesterday for the first time since attempted rape accusations by a New York hotel maid unleashed an international scandal that dashed the former International Monetary Fund chief's chances to win the French presidency.
New York prosecutors later dropped their case against Strauss-Kahn because of questions about the maid's credibility.
But the affair cost him his job at the helm of the IMF and exposed his personal life to worldwide scrutiny that has stained his image and plunged his political future into uncertainty.
Smiling and waving, he stepped off an Air France flight yesterday at Paris's Charles de Gaulle Airport a different man from the one who, just four months ago, had been the pollsters' favorite to beat Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's presidential elections.
Few expect Strauss-Kahn to return to French politics soon, but his supporters have been eagerly awaiting his return after three months of legal drama in the US that they saw as unfairly hostile.
Michele Sabban, a fellow Socialist Party member, said: "I am moved. I always believed in his innocence. I wanted very much for this to be over."
Strauss-Kahn flew to Paris from New York's JFK airport early yesterday and gave a brief wave on leaving the arrivals hall.
His wife, former TV personality Anne Sinclair, was at his side. The two drove to one of their homes, on the Place des Vosges.
The last time he tried to take an Air France flight out of JFK, Strauss-Kahn was pulled out of first-class by police minutes before take-off. They were investigating the maid's claim that hours earlier, Strauss-Kahn had forced her to perform oral sex and tried to rape her.
He quit his job, spent almost a week in jail, then six weeks of house arrest and nearly two more months barred from leaving the country before Manhattan prosecutors dropped the case last month, saying they no longer trusted the maid, Guinean immigrant Nafissatou Diallo.
Diallo is continuing to press her claims in a lawsuit. Strauss-Kahn denies the allegations.
He faces another allegation of attempted rape in France, based on accusations by French novelist Tristane Banon. He called the claim "imaginary."
Banon's mother, Anne Mansouret, said Strauss-Kahn's return "is a good thing for my daughter's complaint because he will have to answer to police."
Banon said she did not file a complaint after the 2003 incident because her mother, a regional Socialist official, urged her not to.
Mansouret, who has said she regrets that decision, called it "profoundly indecent" that Strauss-Kahn's homecoming yesterday was like that of a "star."
Strauss-Kahn, known in France by his initials DSK, is also dubbed a "great seducer" by French commentators for his reputation for sexual adventures.
The Socialist Party is now in a fierce campaign for primaries next month to choose its candidate for April and May presidential elections. The front-runners, while relieved the New York case was dropped, are not keen for Strauss-Kahn to play a role in the campaign.
New York prosecutors later dropped their case against Strauss-Kahn because of questions about the maid's credibility.
But the affair cost him his job at the helm of the IMF and exposed his personal life to worldwide scrutiny that has stained his image and plunged his political future into uncertainty.
Smiling and waving, he stepped off an Air France flight yesterday at Paris's Charles de Gaulle Airport a different man from the one who, just four months ago, had been the pollsters' favorite to beat Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's presidential elections.
Few expect Strauss-Kahn to return to French politics soon, but his supporters have been eagerly awaiting his return after three months of legal drama in the US that they saw as unfairly hostile.
Michele Sabban, a fellow Socialist Party member, said: "I am moved. I always believed in his innocence. I wanted very much for this to be over."
Strauss-Kahn flew to Paris from New York's JFK airport early yesterday and gave a brief wave on leaving the arrivals hall.
His wife, former TV personality Anne Sinclair, was at his side. The two drove to one of their homes, on the Place des Vosges.
The last time he tried to take an Air France flight out of JFK, Strauss-Kahn was pulled out of first-class by police minutes before take-off. They were investigating the maid's claim that hours earlier, Strauss-Kahn had forced her to perform oral sex and tried to rape her.
He quit his job, spent almost a week in jail, then six weeks of house arrest and nearly two more months barred from leaving the country before Manhattan prosecutors dropped the case last month, saying they no longer trusted the maid, Guinean immigrant Nafissatou Diallo.
Diallo is continuing to press her claims in a lawsuit. Strauss-Kahn denies the allegations.
He faces another allegation of attempted rape in France, based on accusations by French novelist Tristane Banon. He called the claim "imaginary."
Banon's mother, Anne Mansouret, said Strauss-Kahn's return "is a good thing for my daughter's complaint because he will have to answer to police."
Banon said she did not file a complaint after the 2003 incident because her mother, a regional Socialist official, urged her not to.
Mansouret, who has said she regrets that decision, called it "profoundly indecent" that Strauss-Kahn's homecoming yesterday was like that of a "star."
Strauss-Kahn, known in France by his initials DSK, is also dubbed a "great seducer" by French commentators for his reputation for sexual adventures.
The Socialist Party is now in a fierce campaign for primaries next month to choose its candidate for April and May presidential elections. The front-runners, while relieved the New York case was dropped, are not keen for Strauss-Kahn to play a role in the campaign.
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