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Geopolitics
France

Strauss-Kahn Case: France's Socialist Party In Upheaval (Again) With New Doubts About Accuser

The Socialist party primary to challenge Nicolas Sarkozy in 2012 is in full swing. Politicians react to sudden news that Dominique Strauss-Kahn may be back in the running.

A cover image after Strauss-Kahn arrest (seamus_walsh)
A cover image after Strauss-Kahn arrest (seamus_walsh)
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Worldcrunch NEWS BITES

PARIS - All of France is abuzz Friday with news of the overnight story by the New York Times reporting that the sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn was "on the verge of collapse." The U.S. newspaper reported that prosecutors had growing doubts about the credibility of the New York hotel maid who levelled the accusations of attempted rape against Strauss-Kahn, a prominent French Socialist Party politician. DSK, as he's often referred to, was forced to resign as head of the International Monetary Fund in the wake of his arrest in May.

Among other reactions, the potentially dramatic reversal of fortune prompted immediate upheaval in France's Socialist Party, where many had earlier counted on Strauss-Kahn as the best hope to challenge Nicolas Sarkozy for the French presidency in 2012. Since his arrest, others have joined the primaries and some formerly diehard Strauss-Kahn supporters shifted allegiances as his candidacy was all but certainly dashed. But could the political chess match shift again if he is exonerated in the coming hours or days?

Socialist Party head Martine Aubry, who just announced this week that she would enter the primaries, told French TV channel i>Télé : "This news make me immensely happy and I think about his family." Aubry added on Twitter: "I hope with all my heart that American justice will unveil all the truth and get Dominique Strauss Kahn out of this nightmare."

Lionel Jospin, a former Socialist prime minister, said it was premature to talk about Dominique Strauss-Kahn returning to France to enter the race to challenge Sarkozy. "It's too soon to transform into politics such dramatic news that keeps changing before our eyes," said Jospin. "He is the first one who'll have to make a decision after this personal shock. Then the Socialists and their representatives will have to decide."

Read original French article in full by Silvain Courage

photo - seamus_walsh

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L'OBS
L'Obs, formerly known as Le Nouvel Observateur ("The New Observer") is France's most widely read weekly newsmagazine. Founded in 1964 by Claude Perdriel, it has been part of Le Monde group since 2014, and is based in Paris.
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Economy
silicon valley bank

How SVB Is Different Than Lehman — And Not Different Enough

The fall of Silicon Valley Bank revives memories of Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy. The two situations have some fundamental differences, but there is enough in common that the risks that SVB could spark a new global financial crisis is very real.

Photo of a person in front of a Silicon Valley Bank

A Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) branch office in Pasadena, California

Ringo Chiu/ZUMA
EconomySourcesLES ECHOSfeatured-postCountriesUnited States
Jean-Marc Vittori

-Analysis-

PARIS — In finance, brands can be the omens of disaster. On Monday, April 2, 2007, New Century Financial collapsed. The fall of this "financial institution of the new century," which had failed to properly assess risks, was the true starting point of the great financial crisis that culminated 18 months later with the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers.

On Friday, March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was shut down by U.S. authorities following the largest bank run in history. Its clients wanted to withdraw $42 billion in a single day.

The closure of the Silicon Valley bank was a result of disastrous management, but also from its central role in a start-up ecosystem that's been weakened by a scarcity of money.

The key question is: Is this closure the starting point of a new crisis?

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