In France, Relief Over Exoneration Of IMF Leader

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a French Socialist and head of the International Monetary Fund, was investigated for abuse of power in a sexual affair. (By Manuel Balce Ceneta -- Associated Press)

The Paris mayor, Bertrand Delanoe, a fellow Socialist, hailed the decision and added: "I have always said that anything concerning personal life has nothing to do with public life."

Strauss-Kahn's wife, the television interview personality Anne Sinclair, also approached the problem as that of a straying husband. "These things happen in the life of any couple," she said on her blog last week. "For my part, this one-night stand is behind us. We have turned the page."

Nagy, through her attorneys, has declined to comment.

Some IMF staff members also voiced suspicion that Strauss-Kahn had abused his authority in getting a young French woman taken on as an intern in the research department even though her qualifications were allegedly below the usual standards. The woman, a family friend of Strauss-Kahn and Sinclair's, had worked for Strauss-Kahn when he sought unsuccessfully to become the Socialist Party candidate in France's May 2007 presidential election.

The outside law firm found that Strauss-Kahn requested through a senior staff member in his office that the woman be considered for an internship, but talked to no one in the research department. The firm found no evidence that he applied pressure on anyone to hire her, it said, noting that referring candidates for consideration is a common practice at the IMF.

In France, helping aides find jobs traditionally has been viewed as a duty by politicians.