France's Next Possible President Jailed on Rape Allegations

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The New York arrest of one
of France's leading global
figures and next possible
president, Dominique
Strauss-Kahn, 62, on charges
of attempted rape threw
France in shock, outrage,
disbelief and embarrassment
on Sunday.

The allegations were that
Socialist and managing director
of the International Monetary
Fund, attempted to rape a maid.
It happened in a $3,000 a night
suite, New York hotel.

The presumption of innocence
must be maintained and the courts
must be allowed to do their work,
government of President Nicolas
Sarkozy.

Strauss-Kahn's wife, the American
born French television journalist
Anne Sinclair, expressed disbelief
in the charges and faith in her
husband's innocence.

"If the accusations turn out to be
true and even if they are proved
false, this is a degrading thing,"
François Bayrou, a centrist who ran
for the presidency in 2007.

The I.M.F. appointed an acting
managing director on Sunday to replace
Strauss-Kahn, who spent hours in a
Manhattan jail awaiting arraignment,
which was postponed until Monday after
additional evidence was sought
including DNA samples from his fingernails
and skin.