Dominique Strauss-Kahn says he was only trying to kiss, not rape French author

Former International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn admitted that he tried to kiss the French author Tristane Banon, but denied attempting to rape her in a Paris flat in 2003.

According to L'Express newspaper, during questioning by police, Strauss-Kahn said that while being interviewed by Banon in February 2003 he made advances toward her but she rebuffed him.

The newspaper's unnamed source said that Strauss-Kahn denied taking his advances any further.

According to the New York Post, Banon alleged that during the 2003 interview the French politician tried to grab hold of her "like a rutting chimpanzee," and then forced her to the floor before she was able to escape.

Sixty-two-year-old Banon's rape accusations emerged after Strauss-Kahn was arrested in New York for trying to sexually assault 33-year-old hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo.

Prosecutors, however, dismissed that case after Diallo's account of the incident was deemed to be unreliable.