Paris opens Strauss-Kahn rape probe

Paris prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation into accusations by a French writer that former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn tried to rape her.

Tristane Banon filed a criminal complaint this week saying that Strauss-Kahn attacked her in an empty flat in 2003 during an interview.

A judicial official said today that the prosecutor’s office has opened a preliminary investigation.

The probe could take months or years and may still not result in a trial.

Strauss-Kahn, long seen as a strong contender for the French presidential election next year, quit as head of the International Monetary Fund after a New York hotel maid accused him of attempted rape in May.