French-bashing is a pastime of increasing popularity among conservative politicians and media pundits. The French attitude of superiority, recognized by Alexis de Tocqueville in the 19th Century (“the French want no-one to be their superior”), facilitates this sport. This is, however, most unfortunate for former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn (often known simply by his initials, “DSK”), as he fights felony sex charges leveled against him in New York City.
The rush to judgment against the wealthy and flamboyant Frenchman has turned the legal process into something more like a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, than the measured and deliberate search for the truth which is the presumed goal of our judicial system.
The charges against Strauss-Kahn, splashed across the front page of tabloids from the Big Apple to every European capital, are well-known. The now-former chairman of the International Monetary Fund and potential Socialist Party candidate for the French presidency, was arrested earlier this month in New York City on accusations he sexually assaulted and unlawfully detained a maid is his Sofitel Hotel suite.
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Strauss-Kahn’s sexual dalliances are well-known in France and elsewhere; and the man himself seems to wear his nickname, “the Great Seducer,” proudly. This notoriety, however, complicates his current circumstances, which some supporters claim was simply another in a long line of “consensual” encounters. Still, even a self-proclaimed Lady’s Man is entitled to a presumption of innocence and a fair legal process; something here easier said than done.
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http://blogs.ajc.com/bob-barr-blog/2011/05/30/in-french-or-english-strauss-kahn-being-railroaded/?cxntfid=blogs_bob_barr_blog