Former director of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn and his wife Anne Sinclair arrived Sunday morning in France, on board of an Air France flight that took off in New York.
This return is likely to put in an embarrassing situation the French socialists, in full campaign for primary elections to nominate in October their 2012 presidential candidate. Dominique Strauss-Kahn has long been considered the candidate best placed to defeat the current President Nicolas Sarkozy.
An Air France plane coming from New York and transporting Dominique Strauss-Kahn landed Sunday at around 7:05 (8:05 GMT), on the airport Paris Roissy-Charles de Gaulle, an airport source said previously.
Many policemen and journalists were present in terminal 2E at Roissy airport.
Saturday, close friends of former Director of the IMF said that he bought a ticket for another flight of Air France, which was to land in Paris Sunday at 8:35.
Smiling and very relaxed, the couple arrived quickly at their home in Vosges Square in central Paris, without making any statement. But according to many people close to them, Dominique Strauss-Kahn would not stay long without making a statement.
The American Justice announced August 23 that it dropped criminal proceedings against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, accused of rape by a chambermaid at a hotel in New York.
He was arrested on May 14 at New York JFK airport, after being denounced by maid Nafissatou Diallo, originally from Guinea, who accused him of raping her at Sofitel Hotel in Manhattan.
Return to Paris, which they expected unpatiently, may be more complicated
If Dominique Strauss-Kahn is sure that he will not go to prison in the United States, he will still need to answer the civil charges and face a long procedure in France, where he is also accused of attempted rape.
French writer Tristane Banon, aged 32, says she was sexually assaulted by Dominique Strauss-Kahn in 2002 and filed a complaint against him on July 4. He firmly rejected the charge, but will have to answer questions from French investigators.
Tristane Banon ‘s mother, Anne Mansouret, a socialist, has described Sunday as “indecent” Strauss-Kahn’s comeback.
The prospect of a long procedure and possible new disclosures has led the Socialists to distance themselves from him since the summer. His most loyal lieutenants joined in turn the other two main contenders for the socialist investiture the president of P.S. Martine Aubry and Francois Hollande, who inherited the favorite place in the polls.
In turn, deputy Jean-Marie Le Guen, a close friend of Strauss-Kahn who joined Francois Hollande team, said Sunday that he was sure that his friend will not try to “interfere in the primary elections”.
In regards to the political future of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, described unanimously as a man of vision, brilliant economist and convinced European, he seems stuck in the short term, while his image is affected by the scandal.
According to political analyst Gerard Grunberg, Strauss-Kahn “is outside the race at least until after presidential elections”. Neither PS nor the voters want him to return.