French ruling party denies Strauss-Kahn downfall conspiracy

Summary of story from IBTimes, November 26, 2011

French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s ruling UMP party has dismissed recent allegations of a political plot to bring down disgraced former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

The allegations were made in an investigative report by US journalist Edward Jay Epstein.

At the time of his arrest, on charges of sexually assaulting a hotel maid (see WVoN coverage), Strauss-Kahn – a former Socialist finance minister – was the front-runner to win France’s presidential elections next year and unseat Sarkozy.

He was forced to resign his IMF post as a result of the scandal, which also ended his presidential prospects.

The media furore around Strauss-Kahn did not stop there.

Most recently his name has appeared in media reports on a judicial probe into a prostitution ring in the north of France, known as the Carlton Affair, although ‘availing of prostitutes’ is not illegal in France.