'Le Perv' DSK could still become 'Le President' in France as hotel rape case crumbles
PARIS - Could Dominique Strauss-Kahn go from house arrest to the presidential palace?
Some in France think so now that the Manhattan rape case against the one-time front-runner appears to be crumbling like a day-old baguette.
"If he didn't do anything wrong, he will be excused," said Stephane Lecoq, 47, of Cherbourg, riding a high-speed train from the south of France to Paris yesterday. "With the economy as it is, the Socialists need a candidate like him," said Lecoq, a manager at a nuclear power plant.
Strauss-Kahn was once considered the opposition party's best hope to defeat President Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's elections.
DSK, as he is known throughout the country, was leading in polls for the party nomination before he was accused of attacking a Times Square hotel maid in May.
After his arrest - and accusations of other ugly incidents with women in his past - he resigned his International Monetary Fund post and was considered politically dead.
Now Socialist bigwigs are openly rejoicing and members of Sarkozy's center-right party are no longer so jubilant. Predictions about DSK's political prospects split, predictably, along party lines.
Far-right party leader Marine Le Pen says Strauss-Kahn cannot be rehabilitated. "Frankly, he cannot come back," Le Pen said.
But Jack Lang, a Socialist former culture minister, said that he "should be called on to play a major political role in France" if he is cleared.
Regional Socialist leader Michele Sabban, who insists Strauss-Kahn is the victim of "an international plot," called for an extension of the July 13 filing date for the party's October primary - but it was not universally embraced.
Even those who think Strauss-Kahn will never take up residence in the Palais de l'Élysée doubt he will fade into the background.
"To me, no, he can't come back. But given the culture in France, if he is innocent, he could be viewed positively again," said Jean-Louis Touton, 39, a history teacher from the southern city of Marseille.
"If he's freed, yes, he can have a second political life," said Chlöe Hervieux, 37, an actress from the southern town of Aubenas.
Like many other French women, Hervieux was put off by rumors of Strauss-Kahn's womanizing that surfaced even before his arrest. But, she noted, "there's a big difference between a rapist and a drageur," using the French word for a man who hits on women, which is not necessarily a bad thing in France, where seduction is a sign of virility.
The Strauss-Kahn case shone a light on a culture steeped in sexism and machismo, and some French women worry the debate will now be stifled.
"There was a discussion about harassment, and now this news might discredit these types of allegations," said Angéline Escafré-Dublet, 32, a research fellow at Sciences Po university in Paris.
(nydailynews)
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Some in France think so now that the Manhattan rape case against the one-time front-runner appears to be crumbling like a day-old baguette.
"If he didn't do anything wrong, he will be excused," said Stephane Lecoq, 47, of Cherbourg, riding a high-speed train from the south of France to Paris yesterday. "With the economy as it is, the Socialists need a candidate like him," said Lecoq, a manager at a nuclear power plant.
Strauss-Kahn was once considered the opposition party's best hope to defeat President Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's elections.
DSK, as he is known throughout the country, was leading in polls for the party nomination before he was accused of attacking a Times Square hotel maid in May.
After his arrest - and accusations of other ugly incidents with women in his past - he resigned his International Monetary Fund post and was considered politically dead.
Now Socialist bigwigs are openly rejoicing and members of Sarkozy's center-right party are no longer so jubilant. Predictions about DSK's political prospects split, predictably, along party lines.
Far-right party leader Marine Le Pen says Strauss-Kahn cannot be rehabilitated. "Frankly, he cannot come back," Le Pen said.
But Jack Lang, a Socialist former culture minister, said that he "should be called on to play a major political role in France" if he is cleared.
Regional Socialist leader Michele Sabban, who insists Strauss-Kahn is the victim of "an international plot," called for an extension of the July 13 filing date for the party's October primary - but it was not universally embraced.
Even those who think Strauss-Kahn will never take up residence in the Palais de l'Élysée doubt he will fade into the background.
"To me, no, he can't come back. But given the culture in France, if he is innocent, he could be viewed positively again," said Jean-Louis Touton, 39, a history teacher from the southern city of Marseille.
"If he's freed, yes, he can have a second political life," said Chlöe Hervieux, 37, an actress from the southern town of Aubenas.
Like many other French women, Hervieux was put off by rumors of Strauss-Kahn's womanizing that surfaced even before his arrest. But, she noted, "there's a big difference between a rapist and a drageur," using the French word for a man who hits on women, which is not necessarily a bad thing in France, where seduction is a sign of virility.
The Strauss-Kahn case shone a light on a culture steeped in sexism and machismo, and some French women worry the debate will now be stifled.
"There was a discussion about harassment, and now this news might discredit these types of allegations," said Angéline Escafré-Dublet, 32, a research fellow at Sciences Po university in Paris.
(nydailynews)
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