Dominique Strauss-Kahn to be tried for pimping
International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn appears for his arraignment in federal court May 16, 2011, in New York City.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn should be tried for "aggravated pimping," a French court has ruled.
Judges in the northern town of Douai today refused to throw out the charges against the former head of the International Monetary Fund and one-time presidential hopeful, Agence France Presse reported.
Strauss-Kahn's lawyers have already announced their intention to appeal, in France's supreme court if necessary.
The charges relate to allegations that he and associates hired prostitutes for a series of lavish sex parties at the Carlton hotel in Lille.
While "consorting" with prostitutes – as the BBC delicately puts it – is not illegal in France, supplying them to others is.
Eight others also face charges, according to AFP, including several prominent local businessmen and a former police commissioner.
Strauss-Kahn admits attending the parties, but denies knowing that some of the women he had sex with there were paid. He has accused the authorities of seeking to "criminalize lust."
More from GlobalPost: A history of DSK scandals, in photos
His defense team, which claims the investigation is biased, says it is confident that Strauss-Kahn will ultimately be cleared of the "absurd accusations" against him.
If so, it wouldn't be the first time: in October, French prosecutors dropped their inquiry into an alleged gang rape at a party attended by DSK and friends in Washington DC, after the woman involved withdrew her complaint. They also dismissed author Tristane Banon's allegation of sexual assault on the grounds that it was too long ago (she said Strauss-Kahn attacked her in 2003).
And just last week, Strauss-Kahn's lawyers reached a settlement with Nafissatou Diallo, the New York hotel maid who accused him of trying to rape her in May 2011. (It was, of course, a civil case – US prosecutors had already dropped the criminal investigation, deeming Diallo an unreliable witness.)
Though none of the allegations have – so far – been proven in court, they were enough to end DSK's once promising political career. He is currently "seeking redemption" as a consultant and public speaker, according to one recent New York Times report.