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On air at 1100GMT: The fall of Dominique Strauss-Kahn?

| Monday, 5 May 2011 | 12:00 - 12:30 GMT

Two days ago Dominique Strauss-Kahn was the head of the International Monetary Fund and a potential challenger to Nicolas Sarkozy for the French presidency in 2012. Now he has agreed to a medical examination after being arrested and charged with attacking and attempting to rape a hotel maid.

Correspondents say he has been central to efforts to stabilise the finances of struggling eurozone member states and his detention is likely to complicate the process.

This article in the Guardian says his fall is a blow for France's Socialists - and a boost for for the far right,

"Although DSK, as he is known in France, denies the accusations, he's clearly now out of the IMF, out of the French presidential race and, most likely, out of politics altogether"

This blogger points out this isn't the first scandal Strauss-Kahn has faced

What does this now do for French politics, does it open the door to the far right?

For some people in France they see this as a humiliation for the entire country

Other claim it is a dirty tricks campaign. Michelle Sabban, a senior councillor for the greater Paris region and a Strauss-Kahn loyalist says

"I am convinced it is an international conspiracy. This is a new form of political assassination. They wanted to block the IMF. This is international finance."

Other loyalists claim it is to stop his presidential bid.

We'll be discussing the issues at 1100GMT

Your comments

  1. Comment sent via Feed

    <p> Deborah posts on Yahoo: What a waste of a young persons life. Going out having fun is one thing providing it doesn&#39;t destroy peoples lives</p>

  2. Comment sent via Feed

    <p> Yreskimo friend tweets: I am so sick of hearing about planking. It was never funny. NEVER. And it&#39;s even less funny now.</p>

  3. Comment sent via Feed

    <p> Maxigirl posts on the Independent website: How very sad.&nbsp; My sympathies to his wife and family.</p>

  4. Comment sent via YOURSAY

    <p> Mo_Farah tweets: So sad to hear about Sammy Wanjiru. He was a legend and still so young.</p>

  5. Comment sent via Facebook

    <p> Ntulume in Uganda posts: Thanks Wanjiru for what you&#39;ve done for Africa as a whole, we shall miss you.</p>

  6. Comment sent via Facebook

    <p> Gilbert in South Africa posts: Truly, life skills coaching should be part of training for the young sports millionaires.</p>

  7. Comment sent via Facebook

    <p> Juta posts: Its amazing how death means little these days and an accused rapist takes the center stage</p>

  8. Comment sent via YOURSAY

    <p> Lawrence commented on Business Insider: If you believe this isn&#39;t cooked up like they fake &quot;rape&quot; charges against Julian Assange of Wikileaks, I&#39;ve got some Greek bonds I&#39;d like to sell you.</p>

  9. Comment sent via Feed

    <p> Nouriel tweets: DSK is innocent until proven guilty. One cannot rule out a setup as a smear campaign against him had started in french press close to Sarko.</p>

  10. Comment sent via YOURSAY

    <p> Andrew posts on the EU Observer blog: Cool down with the conspiracy theories. DSK is a serial womanizer, a fact well-known in Parisian political circles.</p>

  11. Comment sent via Facebook

    <p> Marvin in Zambia posts: This happens when he is just trying to become president, i will not be surprised if it turns out to be a plot</p>

  12. Comment sent via Facebook

    <p> Kahaya in Uganda posts: This girl wants to tarnish Dominique&#39;s name.</p>

  13. Comment sent via BLOG

    <p> Vancouverite posted on Business Insider: It will be interesting to see how Strauss-Kahn&#39;s treatment differs from Assange, although his purported crime sounds much worse, not to mention his history of prior incidents. One has to wonder what he was thinking by allegedly attacking a maid, if indeed that did happen.</p>

  14. Comment sent via host

    We''re on air in a few minutes discussing the arrest of Dominique Strauss Kahn, the death of Kenyan marathon runner Samuel Wanjiru and the new craze called ''planking'', which has resulted in the death of a man in Australia. Post your comments on any of these topics here.