Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Smiling Dominique Strauss-Kahn Is Back In France
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 4, 2011
Modified Sep 4, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
View all 5
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 4, 2011
Modified Sep 4, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
As we all expected, after the Manhattan DA's Office dropped its sexual assault case against him, former IMF head and leading French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn has left his gilded Tribeca cage for his homeland. Strauss-Kahn left New York last night, happily bidding farewell to the mob of reporters outside his $50,000/month townhouse, taking an Air France flight at JFK Airport, and then arriving in Paris today. The AP says he was "smiling and waving silently"—and he was also pushing his own luggage—while supporters were cheering. France loves its short, old fat men.
A fellow Socialist party member was relieved by DSK's release, "I’m moved, I always believed in his innocence. I wanted very much for this to be over," and former French Cultural Minister Jack Lang, who defended DSK (of the alleged crime, he said, "Nobody died") and lives down the street from him, said, "I am a happy neighbor. Finally, they are freed from this humiliating and unjust situation. They proved to have an amazing strength." They being DSK and his wife, billionaire heiress Anne Sinclair.
Back in May, a hotel maid at the Times Square Sofitel accused Strauss-Kahn of trying to rape her and forcing her to perform oral sex on him in his suite. Strauss-Kahn was removed from an Air France flight back to Paris, arrested, perp-walked to the Special Victims Unit, and incited an international incident. His lawyers claimed his innocence, insisting that the accuser had ulterior motives, and then it appeared the case against Strauss-Kahn was weak because the accuser had some inconsistencies in her story. Eventually, the accuser made herself public and insisted the attack was not a ploy for money. The accuser's lawyer is pursuing a civil suit on her behalf.
Tagged
allegation
dominique strauss-kahn
dsk
france
manhattan da
Nafissatou Diallo
perp walk
rape
sexual assault
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Plainclothes ICE agent with long gun looked like mass shooter, Mayor Mamdani says
The mayor said his administration would review ICE and NYPD actions surrounding Thursday’s shooting.
By
Michael Sol Warren
Published Oct 11, 2026 at 1:49 p.m. ET
NJ Transit riders face 5 weeks of schedule disruptions starting Sunday
NJ Transit and Amtrak riders should prepare for cancellations, schedule changes and longer commutes as work continues on the new Portal North Bridge.
By
Giulia Heyward
News
NJ Transit riders face 5 weeks of schedule disruptions starting Sunday
NJ Transit and Amtrak riders should prepare for cancellations, schedule changes and longer commutes as work continues on the new Portal North Bridge.
By
Giulia Heyward
For a Democrat in a traditionally red NJ district, how to woo Republican voters
By
Mike Hayes
2 pedestrians killed in Bronx crash after driver ran red light, police say
By
Brittany Kriegstein
and
Ann Givens
Rain could put a damper on NYC’s long weekend. Here’s when it will clear.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .