Sex, Lies And American Justice: French Still Try To Understand Strauss-Kahn Case (Time.com)

By PIOTR SMOLAR / LE MONDE / WORLDCRUNCH Piotr Smolar / Le Monde / Worldcrunch – Sat Jul 2, 2:25 am ET

This post is in partnership with Worldcrunch, a new global-news site that translates stories of note in foreign languages into English. The article below was originally published in Le Monde.

The startling turnaround in the Dominique Strauss-Kahn affaire has nothing to do with what happened May 14 in the now famous Sofitel hotel room 2806. It is all about the credibility of the plaintiff, the Guinean housekeeper who has accused "DSK" of sexual assault. For the American judicial system, in its Protestant and Puritan culture, lying is considered absolutely unacceptable.

According to the revelations in the New York Times, and subsequent details from prosecutors, there was a healthy amount of incoherence in the statements of the Sofitel Hotel employee. (See pictures of the legal battle of DSK.)

"The American system is based on truth," explains Arthur Dethomas, a Parisian lawyer who is also a member of the New York bar. "Litigants take an oath, they swear not to lie, even in matters that involve themselves. In France, on the contrary, a person who is testifying on his own case is not required to be sworn in, because it is assumed that he can protect himself."

The French system thus gives the accuser a sort of "right to lie." In court, before any statement is recorded, the witnesses are questioned about their connections with the individuals involved in the case. Are they close friends or relatives? Have they had any connection of dependence on them, such as a salary?

According to Dethomas, the revelations mark a decisive turn of events in the investigation. "It has to do with an unexpected affair in a closed room, between two individuals," says the lawyer. "The accusation rests on a sexual encounter between them. For a rape to be established, there must be an absence of consent. If the person who claims to have not given consent ceases to be credible, it's over. Even the fact that she possibly lied on a federal document, the application she filled out for refugee status, would be a felony, a perjury sufficient enough to disqualify everything else she says." (Who was Strauss-Kahn's accuser?)

U.S. Justice Works Both Ways

Between France and the United States, the differences in judicial philosophy and practice, notably concerning the status of the victim, explains part of the incomprehension coming from this side of the Atlantic. But so too does the soap opera of a judicial procedure that has taken place since the beginning in New York against Dominique Strauss-Kahn: his being paraded before the media, handcuffed in front of the cameras, his three-day temporary detention, then the heavy weight given to the prosecution, in contrast to the tactical silence of the defense. "In its brutality, the American justice system works both ways," says a Parisian lawyer.

For his part, Patrick Baudoin, a lawyer as well as the honorary president of the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), listened rather incredulously to the avalanche of commentaries since the latest turn of events. "One thing struck me: as soon as certain unfavorable, thorny elements were discovered in the past history of the plaintiff, it was deduced that her testimony no longer stands."

Baudoin himself encountered the ways of the American justice system when he defended the mother of Zacarias Moussaoui, accused of having wanted to participate in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The comparison between the United States and France prompted him to distinguish justice from public life. "In terms of public morality, it is much better in the United States," he notes. "In France, there is much more leeway and allowance for half-truths. However, in terms of law, it is striking to see what is going on in the United States from one extreme to another. We saw a vilified and reviled DSK who was being dragged through the mud. Suddenly, the victim, who contrary to the French system is merely a witness and not a plaintiff, is discredited." (See pictures of the flashly life of Strauss-Kahn.)

The lie is not only a "mortal sin" inside the courtrooms of America. It is also devastating in front of the cameras. In 1998, Bill Clinton was nearly thrown out of office through an impeachment procedure for having been accused of perjury in the Monica Lewinsky affair. He was not criticized for having a sexual relation with his assistant, but for having lied about it.

In the same way and more recently, the Democratic representative Anthony Weiner had to resign from his position in Congress on June 21. He had sent risquE photos of himself in his underwear through his Twitter account. But the reason for his fall was caused by his first version of the facts, which were misleading and dishonest. He had pretended that his account was hacked. This insupportable line of defense forced him, within a few days, to backtrack and confess with sobs in his voice in front of the cameras. It was already too late.

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French journalists return home after Afghanistan hostage ordeal [VIDEO] (The Christian Science Monitor)

Paris Herve Ghesquiere and Stephane Taponier – Joy came to France this morning as the last two journalists held hostage under war conditions arrived home after 547 days in Taliban captivity. They said the ordeal raised their awareness of other hostages held “everywhere in the world.”

Herve Ghesquiere and Stephane Taponier of France 3 television started reporting in Afghanistan while embedded with a French military unit and were abducted in 2009 in the Kapisa Valley after visiting a town without the protection of troops, in order to get an authentic take on the area.

Today the two landed at a military air base outside Paris amid throngs of French journalists and hugged each other and family, answering questions in an ebullient moment. "We're doing really, really, really well," said Mr. Taponier, a cameraman who has worked in Gaza and Lebanon. “We stayed optimistic.”

When French Prime Minister Francois Fillon announced yesterday the release of the two at the National Assembly, that body erupted in a standing ovation. France has a famed tradition of patriotic emotion on the return home of captives. The release of a French-Colombian celebrity politician, Ingrid Betancourt, after six years held in the jungle brought a day of celebration two years ago.

The two France 3 journalists today described their ordeal as grueling due to poor conditions, lack of food, and uncertainty, but said they were not treated badly by their Taliban captors. Their translator, an Afghan national named Reza Din, was also released.

Winning hearts and minds in Afghanistan

“We were never threatened, never beaten, never tied up,” Taponier said. “But we were locked up 23 hours and 45 minutes [a day], with very little to eat, and always the same thing, ‘Afghan mountain special.’ It might sound stupid, food, but it's vital."

Mr. Ghesquiere, who worked in the Rwanda, Kosovo, and Balkan wars, said the experience has him thinking more of other unfortunates who are locked away or kidnapped. "There are many hostages in the world, I am really thinking about them,” he told colleagues today. “To be a hostage is complicated and difficult… I feel a deep emotion for them."

The two were released following a December intervention with Afghan President Hamid Karzai by French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, as well as the announcement of a withdrawal of French troops this month after US President Obama’s decision to draw down US troop levels. The Paris-based Reporters San Frontiers says the two are the final professional journalists held hostage that they are aware of.

Unusually, for four months after their kidnapping the French government did not release the men’s names. The reason was to reduce pressure in negotiations, a tactic similar to that used by the New York Times in securing its reporter David Rhodes. It was the first time France had held back names of captives.

Perils of war reporting Journalists here later criticized French officials for insinuating, once their names were known, that the men were irresponsible and perhaps culpable, since they left their embed. The issue of operating independently in Taliban areas has been a sensitive and highly subjective one among foreign reporters in Afghanistan: The calculation pits the reporter’s experience and skill with a desire to achieve a thrilling or significant story and includes the risk of doing harm to local translators, civilians or troops that may be called to rescue.

In this case, the men had war reporting backgrounds. They worked for a highly regarded series on France 3 television called “Pieces a conviction,” an in-depth report akin to “Frontline” on US public television or “Assignment” on the BBC. Their Afghan report focused on a road reconstruction project in the French military zone to the east of Kabul and was planned for three months.

After it was posited today that French military officials warned the journalists not to go to the town they were captured in, Ghesquiere offered in a slight eruption that: "No one had warned us against going there… We didn't start out climbing the North Face of Everest wearing flip-flops, far from it… We didn't go there blindly… Let me make myself clear: No one told us anything."

GhesquierA? said he looked forward to returning to a normal life and that he did not want to a€?play the role of an ex-hostage.a€

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Freed French hostages arrive home

Paris (CNN) -- Two French journalists held for 547 days in Afghanistan arrived home Thursday, stepping into the arms of relatives and friends after they landed at an airbase near Paris.

"This is the moment that we had dreamed about, imagined, fantasized about," said Herve Ghesquiere, one of the two journalists for France 3 Television.

Ghesquiere, co-worker Stephane Taponier and their interpreter Reza Din were captured on December 30, 2009.

The journalists said they had remained optimistic they would be freed throughout their ordeal.

They left Afghanistan on Wednesday evening aboard a French government plane, authorities said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy thanked his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai "for the management of this crisis and all those who participated in the liberation of the hostages."

The three were released Wednesday, and landed at an airbase near Paris a day later.

Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said France does not pay ransoms.

CNN affiliate France 2 asked Juppe whether he would reveal the information if a ransom had been paid.

"There are cases where the reason of state prevails over other considerations, and I think nothing should be done that would threaten the process of freeing other hostages," Juppe said.

Nine French hostages are being held in Africa and the Middle East, he said.

Taliban militants had threatened to kill the journalists if several demands were not met, including the release of a number of detainees held by France.

It was unclear whether the demands had been met, but French officials said their strategy in Afghanistan or elsewhere would not change.

CNN's Richard Greene and Alan Silverleib contributed to this report.

CNN

6 bodies found in French Alps

Officials hold a white sheet up to block the view as bodies are loaded into a mortuary van Sunday.Authorities believe the six climbers died SaturdayThey may have been victims of an avalanche, a nearby village mayor says

(CNN) -- The bodies of six climbers were found Sunday in the French Alps, authorities said.

After a hiker spotted the bodies, they were brought by helicopter to the nearby village of Villar d'Arene, local police said, according to a report on French state radio.

Authorities believe the mountaineers died Saturday morning, said the village mayor Xavier Cret.

"It is assumed that there was an avalanche of snow and stones," Cret said.

French police said "all hypotheses are possible" about how the mountain climbers died. "They could have been victims of a broken snow bridge, a fall or an avalanche," the state radio report said.

The bodies were found at about 8,858 feet (2,700 meters) in a very steep pass at la Plate des Agneaux.

CNN

Seven French children hospitalised by E. coli outbreak (AFP)

LILLE, France (AFP) – Seven children were hospitalised in France with E. coli infections after eating meat that may have been imported from Germany, but health authorities said there was no link to a similar bacteria outbreak there.

The children, aged from 20 months to eight years old, had eaten defrosted hamburgers made by the French company SEB which said the meat was taken from animals slaughtered in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, and processed in France.

The cases come after a major E. coli outbreak that killed 39 people -- all in Germany except for one woman who died in Sweden after visiting Germany -- and sickened 3,300 people in 16 countries.

Doctor Michel Foulard of the University Hospital Centre where the children were being treated in Lille, northern France, said one of them was in critical condition.

But junior health minister Nora Berra later said on BFM television this was "not the case".

Officials said the infection was a rare strain of the E. coli bacteria but was not linked to the similar outbreak in Germany.

"There's meat from Germany, there's meat from Belgium and from Holland" in the burgers, SEB chief executive Guy Lamorlette told AFP.

"There are several suppliers. We will have to await the test results to say which is contaminated."

Six of the children were hospitalised on Wednesday and a seventh on Thursday, authorities said. They came from different towns in France's Nord region, but there were no connections between them.

The "Steak Country" burgers were bought in French branches of German supermarket Lidl. SEB said it had recalled them and Lidl said it had removed them from its shelves in France.

Regional Health Agency (ARS) officials in Lille said the children suffered from bloody diarrhoea, a symptom that also struck victims of the outbreak in Germany which has been blamed on infected bean sprouts.

They also became anaemic quickly and blood transfusions were required for four of the children. Three others suffer from renal failures severe enough to require dialyses, said Foulard.

"We are certain that this is not the same strain as the bean sprouts in Germany," ARS head Daniel Lenoir, told reporters in Lille, however.

The children suffer from a syndrome that "may be the source of an acute renal failure", the ARS said, adding that the bacteria was a "rare type" which produces dangerous "Shiga" toxins.

"This food poisoning...may be very serious," said ARS medical advisor Joelle Perrin, after another official earlier in the day said the cases were "serious but not worrying".

In Brussels, the European Commission said it had been informed of the outbreak but "the origin of the meat has not been confirmed", said Frederic Vincent, spokesman for Health Commissioner John Dalli.

"There's no need to compare with Germany, because this isn't the same strain of the E. coli bacteria. This is different, even if it's as strong," Vincent said.

SEB boss Lamorlette said that the origin of the illness had yet to be confirmed.

"I'm not saying it's false (that the contamination came from the burgers), just that for now nothing is confirmed. It's a possibility, that's all. We have to await the test results before saying anything."

Lamorlette insisted that the suspicious meat had been subjected to stringent tests and declared fit for human consumption, suggesting consumer negligence such as under-cooking or refreezing could be to blame.

Belgian health authorities on Thursday denied the country was behind the toxic meat exports "but other European countries".

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Libyan rebels free detained French: France (AFP)

PARIS (AFP) – Four French employees of a private security firm detained by Libyan rebels in Benghazi after an incident on May 11 when their boss was shot dead have been freed, the French foreign ministry said on Saturday.

"They were taken to Egypt today and taken into the care of our consular authorities," a ministry statement said.

The rebels said Friday they would soon deport the four after arresting them on suspicion of spying for Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi.

The fifth Frenchman, ex-paratrooper Pierre Marziali, was "accidentally" shot dead by the rebels in a murky incident at a checkpoint.

Marziali was the founder of private security firm Secopex which had opened an office in Benghazi and his four companions were also working for the firm.

The rebels charged that the five were not private security contractors but were in Benghazi to sabotage the uprising against Kadhafi.

Secopex Vice President Robert Dulas dismissed the accusations of espionage, insisting that the French authorities and the rebels were aware of the company's activities in Libya.

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Arrest of IMF Chief on Attempted Rape Charges Throws French Presidential Race Into Chaos (Time.com)

The news of the arrest of IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, 62, was shocking in its own right: late Saturday afternoon, Port Authority police took Strauss-Kahn from the First Class cabin of an Air France flight at Kennedy Airport about to depart for Paris amid allegations he attempted to rape a midtown Manhattan hotel maid earlier in the day. But considering the fact that the former French finance minister Strauss-Kahn was widely expected to run against President Nicolas Sarkozy next year, the turn of events was particularly stunning.

In fact DSK, as the French call one of the country's leading political figures, happens to be on the cover of virtually every French magazine this week as the country's possible next President, and several have recently featured photos of him with his wife Anne Sinclair, a U.S.-born veteran French television journalist. So it didn't take long for the news, which broke at about 2 a.m. Paris time, to throw next May's French presidential race into upheaval by quite possibly removing the only candidate clearly capable of beating Sarkozy. (See a brief history of the IMF.)

On Sunday French liberal politicians urged people not to rush to judgment. Strauss-Kahn's close associate and spokesman Jean-Marie le Guen, told Europe 1 radio that "this episode does not resemble the Dominique Strauss-Kahn I know." SEgolEne Royal, who beat out Strauss-Kahn for the party nomination in 2006 beore her poorly-run presidential race was blamed for having buried the Socialists' chances, said on Sunday that "there must be a presumption of innocence."

The New York Police Department claims that at about 1 p.m. on Saturday, a hotel maid entered a $3,000-a-night suite at the Sofitel near Times Square, believing that it was empty. Strauss-Kahn then emerged naked from the bathroom, and grabbed her, pulled her into the bedroom and threw her on to the bed, before trying to lock the suite's main door, according to New York Police Dept. Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne, who outlined the charges to reporters. "She fights him off, and then he drags her down the hallway to the bathroom, where he sexually assaults her a second time," he told Reuters.

The maid, 32, finally managed to push Strauss-Kahn away and escape, according to Browne, and her colleagues called 911. Strauss-Kahn had checked out by the time police arrived at the hotel, leaving behind his cell phone. Strauss-Kahn was arrested on charges of attempted rape, conducting a criminal sexual act, and unlawful imprisonment of the woman. Early Sunday, Strauss-Kahn's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, told Reuters his client, who was still in NYPD custody and was expected to appear in state court sometime Sunday, would plead not guilty. (See how Strauss-Kahn has helped save Europe's troubled economies.)

For Strauss-Kahn's Socialist Party, the timing could hardly have been worse. After years in the political wilderness, the party is getting set to nominate its contender, and in Strauss-Kahn, it appeared to have finally found a winner. Recent French opinion polls put him far ahead of Sarkozy in next year's race. The recent photos of Strauss-Kahn's high-altitude lifestyle - which this week included him stepping out of a Porsche - has provoked discomfort among many French leftists, who feared that he was too rich and privileged to appeal to their traditional working-class base. Yet even that appeared to be little political obstacle to Strauss-Kahn, who had seemed to have a solid chance of victory.

The ramifications of Strauss-Kahn's arrest extend way beyond the gilded government palaces in Paris, however.

In Washington, it could raise questions about why the IMF gave him a free pass in 2008 after he began an affair with a Hungarian economist, who was his subordinate at the organization. While concluding he had shown poor judgment, the IMF decided not to censure or remove Strauss-Kahn, at a time when the world faced the deepest financial crisis since the Great Depression; for his part, Strauss-Kahn issued a statement declaring that "I am grateful that the board has confirmed that there was no abuse of authority on my part, but I accept that this incident represents a serious error of judgment." (See Strauss-Kahn's alleged 2008 abuses of power.)

Since then, Strauss-Kahn has won praise for his handling of the global meltdown. This time, however, IMF officials have immediately distanced themselves from their chief. A two-sentence IMF statement on Sunday said that Strauss-Kahn's arrest was a matter for the NYPD and his personal attorney, and that the organization "remains fully functioning and operational." Nonetheless, the IMF could face an internal crisis now, since Strauss-Kahn's deputy, John Lipsky, announced last Thursday that he was leaving the organization in August.

Across Europe, too, Strauss-Kahn's arrest will have a major impact. It could impact critical negotiations over the E.U.'s deep debt crisis, in which Strauss-Kahn has been a key - if not the key - player. He was due to be at emergency debt meetings in Brussels this week, and perhaps mindful that he could soon be one of the E.U.'s most powerful leaders, as French President, he has cautioned for months against harsh austerity measures for debt-ridden countries Portugal and Greece.

That now seems like a comparatively simple challenge. Rather than fighting to move into the Elysee Palace, Strauss-Kahn suddenly will have to fight to keep himself out of jail, perhaps for years.

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