AUDIE CORNISH, Host:
Eleanor Beardsley reports that the former head of the International Monetary Fund returns home to a country divided in its feelings over the former political star.
ELEANOR BEARDSLEY: The media coverage Strauss-Kahn got in New York seemed like nothing compared with what awaited him in Paris.
(SOUNDBITE OF NEWS CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (Foreign language spoken)
BEARDSLEY: French television showed him arriving with his wife, Anne Sinclair, at Charles De Gaulle Airport surrounded by a throng of frenzied journalists. Another tangle of cameras and microphones awaited the couple at their chic Paris apartment.
(SOUNDBITE OF NEWS CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Foreign language spoken)
BEARDSLEY: Banon's mother, Anne Mansouret spoke on television.
ANNE MANSOURET: (Through Translator) I'm her mother, but I'm also a Socialist Party member, and I'm shocked by the media hype around his return. It's indecent. Strauss-Kahn was never judged, so he is certainly not innocent.
BEARDSLEY: The Socialist Party has been damaged by Strauss-Kahn, it has moved on and is holding primaries for next May's presidential election without him.
(SOUNDBITE OF A CROWD)
BEARDSLEY: Nicolas Thomas is a fireman.
NICOLAS THOMAS: (Through Translator) He's finished. He just needs to keep his mouth shut now. We have women running for president now and nobody can support this kind of behavior.
BEARDSLEY: You're listening to NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
