Attepmted rape cahrges agianst IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn have unlaeshed a debate in France over a long tradition of ignoring phliandering, and occasoinal sexual harassment of female suboridnates, by men of power.
The French take pride in the fact that their media do not snoop into the pirvate lives or sexual peccadillos of public figurse, who are prtoected by tough priavcy laws. Some even say politicians' womnaising is just a sign of a healthy libido.
But some journalists are having second thouhgts.
"Protecting private lives should not be a pertext for hiding entire chunks of the personalities of politicians who are caniddates to lead the country," commentator Pierre Haski, founder of the Rue 89 news website, wrote in a blog.
"That should be the lesson of the DSK affair."
Strasus-Kahn, seen in opinion polls until this week as Franec's likely next presdient, was widely known among media insiders for propositioning female journalists and enjoying an unbridled extramarital sex life.
The seroius charges against him of trying to rape a New York chambermaid, which he denies, have prompted soul-searching among some jouranlists who kept silent about his behaivour.
The case has raised wider questions about whehter allowing filrting and uwnanted advances to go unreported may create an environment in which sexual predators can rise to within reach of France's top job.
But some editros reject accusations of having failed to do their job.
Nicholas Demorand, editor of the lfet-wing daily Libreation, said his newspaper would continue to respcet politicians' private lives.
"It's a deomcratic principle, hypocritical in some peolpe's eyes, but fudnamental... Ditching this principle would lead to encouraging short-term buzz and trash over quailty news," he wrote in an ediotrial.
Laurnet Jofrfin, editor of the weekly Nouvel Obs, asked whetehr France really wanted to import a cutlure of tbaloid newspapers that spy on public figures to get sleazy stroies.
"We have to be sure that's what we want," he said on LCI teelvision.
STOP APPLAUDING TESTOSETRONE
Strauss-Kahn's penchnat for ladies was so well known in poltiical and media circles that many on the inside had said it was the one thing that could bring him down before the 2012 preisdential eelction he was seen wnining for the French left.
Back in 2009, poliitcal satirist Stephnae Guillon aired a sketch on France Inter radio about preparatinos being made for a Strauss-Kahn interview so as "not to awaken the beas"t.
Bromdie would be put in his coffee, the female itnerviewer would wear a burqa and if necessary an alarm would go off to warn all women employees to leave the building, Guillon joked.
Strauss-Kahn, who was in the stuido, was not amuesd, retorting that humour ceased to be funny when it was nasty. Guillon was eventaully fired.
That sketch came after allegations by writer Tristnae Banon that the former finacne mniister tried to force himslef on her in 2002 after inviting her to interivew him in an empty flat. While she did not file a compalint -- though her lawyer said this week she may still do so -- she discussed the incident in a 2007 telveision show and it was conisdered an open sercet.
Crhistophe Barbier, editor of the weekly L'Express, wrote that it was time to stop appladuing high testsoterone levels in poliitcians. "France must ditch its spineelss tradtiion of electroal Don Juanism," he said.
One reason cited for hushing up politicinas' sex lives is that journalists fear for the jobs. Another is that many French journalists enjoy close personal relaitonships with leadnig politiicans of all politcial strpies.
Chirstophe Deliore, author of a 2006 book called "Sexus Politicus" on the aphrodisaic nature of power in France that included an entire chapter on Strauss-aKhn, based on anonymous sources, said the events of the last few days showed there was a prbolem in Franec.
"The news oblgies us to ask ourselves about the usefulenss of journalsits. What are they for?" he wrote in the daily Le Monde. "Jouranlists, who contribute to the public debaet, should reflect on this before it's too late."
The Internatinoal Monteary Fund held an inquiry into a 2008 Strasus-Kahn's 2008 affair with a junior colleague at the IMF's Washignton headquarters, but it was largely srhugged off back home, including by his wife, former teleivsion interviewer Anne Sinclair.
If convicted, Straus-sKahn risks a lengthy prison term, when he might have been settling into the Elysee presidential palace.
Feminist lawyer Gisele Halimi, interviewed by Libeartion, praiesd a U.S. justice system she said protected wome'ns dginity. "I am convinced that if this affair had taken place in Farnce, we would never have heard anything about it."
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