Article for the 4th of October

Dominique Strauss-Kahn confronted by rape accuser Banon

The BBC's Christian Fraser: "Tristane Banon said she wanted to look into the eyes of Dominique Strauss-Kahn"

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Ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the French writer who accuses him of attempted rape have confronted each other as part of a police inquiry.

Police are investigating Tristane Banon's complaint before prosecutors decide whether to press charges.

Mr Strauss-Kahn is said to admit making "an advance" on Ms Banon, but denies any violence, and is suing for slander.

She made the allegations in June, when Mr Strauss-Kahn was accused of rape in New York; that case was later dropped.

The confrontation took place at a Paris police station without lawyers present, but with police officers in the room.

Police confrontations are held when two people in a case give different versions of events.

Mr Strauss-Kahn left the police station a couple of hours after arriving without making any comments.

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At the scene

Christian FraserBBC News, Paris

After the confrontation, it will be up to the court to decide which way to take it. They can either decide there is no case to answer. They could decide that this was a case of less serious sexual abuse, but in that case, eight years on, under the statute of limitation, the case would be put to one side.

Or they could decide that on the evidence of the investigation that has been going on since July, there needs to be further investigation and an investigating judge would been appointed.

But you can imagine for Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who is trying to relaunch is political career, he is very keen for this to be put to one side and he will be hoping that the police believes his side of the story.

Both parties have been interviewed by police over the alleged incident.

Ms Banon, 32, has said she is keen to confront her alleged attacker.

"I want him in front of me so he can look into my eyes and say to my face that I imagined it."

Ms Banon alleges she had to fight off Mr Strauss-Kahn, 62, "with kicks and punches" when he tried to rip off her clothes during an interview at Paris flat in 2003.

Ms Banon first made the allegations in a TV chat show in 2007, when Mr Strauss-Kahn's name was bleeped out.

The former International Monetary Fund director, who was once tipped as a future French president, recently returned to France.

He also still faces a civil suit by his alleged victim in New York, Nafissatou Diallo.