Under Mr. Strauss-Kahn, the IMF promoted multiple European bailouts and we doubt that will change.
Mr Strauss-Kahn abandoned plans to run after he was accused of rape last year.
Many euro-zone governments hoped Mr. Strauss-Kahn could find a way to relax the IMF's summer deadline.
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In a statement issued by his attorneys to Agence France Presse, Strauss-Kahn denied the allegations.
Ms Lagarde replaced its disgraced former chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn less than two years ago.
Contrary to the claims of some Socialist figures, Mr Strauss-Kahn has not been cleared.
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Both Mr Fabius and Mr Strauss-Kahn sent messages of congratulation soon after their defeat.
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Some, such as Mr Strauss-Kahn, are less interventionist than others, such as Ms Aubry.
The two women told French press that the Strauss-Kahn case had inspired them to come forward.
Every couple of months Mr Strauss-Kahn drops into Paris, lunching and dining with the right people.
Another issue is the potential fallout from a workplace sexual-harassment scandal involving Mr Strauss-Kahn in 2008.
Ms Royal has her eye on the presidency, as does Dominique Strauss-Kahn, boss of the IMF.
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Yet Mr Hollande's score is shared with Mr Strauss-Kahn and a handful of others.
To that end, he was relying on loyal Mr Strauss-Kahn to keep the economy and the ideas rolling.
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Strauss-Kahn denied the allegations and has since filed a countersuit in France, alleging slander.
Mr Strauss-Kahn's twin search for legitimacy and relevance will soon be put to the test.
Mr Strauss-Kahn's predecessor, Rodrigo de Rato, left the post after only three years, for personal reasons.
More important in the short term is the political fall-out from Mr Strauss-Kahn's departure.
There is, however, a different reason to be worried about the loss of Mr Strauss-Kahn.
Mr Jospin has already lost a clever finance minister, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, to allegations of corruption.
The IMF chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, has suggested the crisis is not over until job growth returns.
"L'Affaire Cahuzac" has struck French consciences as deeply as Dominique Strauss-Kahn's sex scandal in 2011.
Strauss-Kahn, like other avatars of the system, reveled in his own kind of aristocratic and exclusive playground.
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Yet IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn is no fan of introducing a so-called "Tobin Tax" on financial transactions.
Investigators want to establish whether Mr Strauss-Kahn knew he was dealing with prostitutes and pimps at parties.
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Mr Strauss-Kahn's easy charm may not be enough to keep them happy when the euro-11 gets going.
We do know that Depardieu has agreed to play the leading role in a film about Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Mr Sarkozy's UMP party has previously denied any allegations it was involved in a plot against Mr Strauss-Kahn.
Mr Strauss-Kahn had arranged for a friend to examine the phone upon his planned arrival back in Paris.
Ms Banon's lawyer, David Koubbi, said this week that she was intending to press charges against Mr Strauss-Kahn.
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