Strauss-Kahn meets French accuser

Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund, and the writer, Tristane Banon, were questioned together for more than two hours as investigators sought to compare their versions and extract further information on the case.

The joint questioning, a normal part of sexual assault cases in France, could represent a last legal step for prosecutors before either bringing formal charges, or dropping the case.

Banon, 32, filed a criminal complaint in July for attempted rape against Strauss-Kahn, 62, after she said that he tried to rape her during an interview in 2003. Following her complaint, the Paris prosecutor’s office opened a preliminary investigation. Prosecutors are trying to decide whether or not to open a judicial investigation.

Strauss-Kahn called Banon’s allegations “imaginary and slanderous” in an interview two weeks ago, his first since being arrested in the United States in May on charges of attempted rape against a hotel housekeeper. That case was later dropped amid questions surrounding the reliability of the housekeeper’s testimony.