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Another sex charge against IMF chief
By this time next year, Dominique Strauss-Kahn might well have been president of France. He was the only contender seen as capable of unseating Nicolas Sarkozy.
By this time next year, Dominique Strauss-Kahn might well have been president of France. He was the only contender seen as capable of unseating Nicolas Sarkozy.
But his plan to run for the Elysée Palace appears to be in ruins, even without resolution of the New York case - in which he was denied bail Monday night - after further allegations against him were broadcast on French television on Sunday.
A local official of the Socialist party claimed that the IMF chief had attacked her daughter in 2002.
Tristane Banon was in her 20s and writing a book when she approached Strauss-Kahn for an interview in 2002. In a TV programme in 2007, in which Strauss-Kahn's name was bleeped out, Banon described him as a "rutting chimpanzee".
"When we were fighting, I mentioned the word 'rape' to make him afraid, but it didn't have any effect. I managed to get out."
Banon did not press charges.
In a text message to Reuters on Monday, lawyer David Koubbi said "we are considering filing a complaint". Banon's mother, Anne Mansouret, said she had dissuaded her daughter from legal action.
Strauss-Kahn's alleged womanising appears to have been an open secret in French political circles.
Thierry Saussez, a former adviser to Sarkozy, who took part in the TV show with Banon, said: "Not many female journalists are prepared to interview him alone these days.
