Strauss-Kahn returns to France but not politics

Four months after being dragged off that plane in New York to answer accusations that he attempted to rape a hotel chambermaid, the former IMF chief arrived in Paris on Sunday to a gaggle of reporters that would be the envy of any politician on the campaign trail.

But a poll and analysts indicate that his politicking days are over. At least, for now.

Strauss-Kahn touched down Sunday just over a week after New York prosecutors dropped the charges — including attempted rape, sex abuse and unlawful imprisonment — because of concerns about the maid's credibility. He was met with a mixed welcome.

Friends and allies in the Socialist Party expressed relief that he was home a free man, and a supporter serenaded him with a bit of Verdi.

But members of his own party who are currently competing in a presidential primary have begun distancing themselves, and French voters appear to want a break from the man so famous he's often known only by his initials DSK.

"I don't think he will come back on the political scene," said Bichi Attal, a resident of Sarcelles, the working class suburb of Paris where Strauss-Kahn used to be mayor. "If I were in his shoes, I would stop politics and take care of my wife because he has a great wife."

Jean-Daniel Levy, a pollster and political analyst, said that while French people were still interested in the man as gossip, they'd lost interest in the politician.