French writer Tristane Banon will file a legal complaint tomorrow over an alleged rape attempt by former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in 2003, her lawyer told Reuters.
David Koubbi, Ms Banon's attorney, said the complaint would relate to an incident that took place when she went to interview Mr Strauss-Kahn in an apartment in Paris. She was 22 at the time and has already publicly discussed the incident.
"Tristane Banon will file a complaint on Tuesday for attempted rape in Paris," Mr Koubbi said.
The move comes just as a US case against Mr Strauss-Kahn on charges of attempted rape and sexual assault of a hotel maid seems close to collapse after prosecutors acknowledged she had lied under oath and changed her story.
The turnabout in the New York case has prompted some calls for the former Socialist finance minister to make a political comeback in France.
The move by Ms Banon, a journalist and author of a book and two novels, will follow Mr Strauss-Kahn's release from house arrest in New York last Friday after prosecutors said they now doubted the credibility of his Guinean-born accuser.
Mr Koubbi would not say whether the timing was affected by developments in New York.
Under French law, attempted rape charges can be brought up to 10 years after an alleged attack, whereas sexual assault charges expire after three years.
Mr Koubbi had said several times in recent weeks his client was considering taking action against Mr Strauss-Kahn for the incident, which he said today took place in early 2003, not in 2002 as had previously been reported.
However, he also said she did not wish to be associated with the US prosecution and would not respond to an appeal by the New York plaintiff's lawyer to testify.
Ms Baron's mother Anne Mansouret, a Socialist councillor, has said she regrets talking her daughter out of filing a complaint at the time.
The alleged incident first surfaced publicly in 2007, when Ms Banon described what she claimed happened on a television talk show, albeit with Mr Strauss-Kahn's name bleeped out by the broadcaster.
Reuters