Former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief
Dominique Strauss-Kahn and his wife Anne Sinclair announced plans
Friday to sue a French magazine for invasion of privacy over a report
that they had separated.
Closer, a celebrity gossip magazine, reported Friday that
Sinclair, a journalist, had asked Strauss-Kahn to leave their central
Paris home about a month ago.
"She believed right up to the end, but today, it's all over
between them," Closer wrote.
Strauss-Kahn was "shattered" and "depressed" by the break-up,
according to the report, which was widely circulated by other French
media.
In a statement issued through their lawyers, the couple said they
planned to take legal action against Closer, AFP reported. They did
not comment on the substance of the report, which comes more than a
year after Strauss-Kahn, also 63, was arrested in New York on charges
of attempting to rape a hotel maid.
The scandal saw him forced to resign his position at the IMF and
buried his ambition of running for French president.
Although US prosecutors later dropped the criminal charges, the
Sofitel affair, as it was known, triggered a flurry of allegations
against Strauss-Kahn that have kept him in the headlines ever since.
The former finance minister is under formal investigation for
involvement in a French-based prostitution ring. Meanwhile, in New
York, maid Nafissatou Diallo has begun civil proceedings against him.
Sinclair stood by him throughout the past year, winning mixed
scorn and admiration for her forbearance.
In recent months, the former TV presenter has focused on
furthering her own career, which she had put on hold for his
political ambitions.
Since January, she has been editing the French version of the
Huffington Post news site.
