Free Republic

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former IMF chief, has been described as "mentally ill" by Michel Rocard, France's highly respected former prime minister. The 81-year-old elder statesman of the Socialist party delivered his damning verdict in a live TV interview on Monday night. Mr Rocard - French prime minister from 1988 to 1991 - said it was “clearly medical problems” that drove Mr Strauss-Kahn to become embroiled in repeated sex scandals. The 63-year-old former head of the International Monetary Fund was recently freed from charges of trying to rape a hotel chambermaid in New York. Guinea-born maid Nafissatou Diallo, 32, has launched...

Jan. 5, 2005 13:59 PA election observers warned to expect violence By ASSOCIATED PRESS European Union election observers can expect violence during the upcoming Palestinian presidential election, but should not try to intervene, the head of the mission said Wednesday. Gearing up for Sunday's vote to elect Yasser Arafat's successor, former French Prime Minister Michel Rocard, the chief EU observer, instructed more than 260 members on their mission. "Bringing peace in the Middle East is out of our reach," Rocard, now a member of the European parliament, told the crowd. "Except in very rare cases in which the incidents will...