Strauss-Kahn’s wife to run French Huffington Post

The French-language edition of news and opinion website The Huffington Post will be run by Anne Sinclair, who is married to Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former International Monetary Fund director and Socialist politician. Strauss-Kahn stood down from his post last year following sex crime allegations. He was also shamed out of running for the Socialist slot in the 2012 French presidential primary election.

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New York-born Sinclair, an esteemed and popular journalist in France, anchored the country’s most-watched television show until 1997, when her husband became finance minister and her objectivity was placed under scrutiny.

The news on Wednesday sparked speculation in France that Sinclair’s husband would once again overshadow her career. The relationship between Strauss-Kahn and Sinclair remains under the spotlight in the French press, where feminists have spoken out against the 61-year-old journalist for protecting her disgraced husband, accused of attempting to rape a New York hotel worker in May last year. He was also accused of sexually abusing a young French journalist in 2002.

Sinclair spoke out against her critics in an interview with Elle Magazine on Wednesday. “Nobody knows what happens in a private relationship, and I deny anyone the right to judge mine. I am comfortable with my decisions, my actions, I made them independently,” she said.

In November, the couple filed lawsuits against several French newspapers concerning another sex scandal – a suspected prostitution ring in Lille – which Strauss-Kahn was alleged to have been involved in.

Sinclair’s post has yet to be officially announced, but she was named editorial director in a press invitation to the website launch. Arianna Huffington, co-founder of the online publication, which also has sites in Canada and the UK, will also be present at the event in Paris on Monday.

Sinclair, who was once expected to become France’s next First Lady, told Elle Magazine that she was “very happy to resume my career, amid the euphoria of taking part in something new. I am neither a saint nor a victim,’’ she added. Referring to her relationship with Strauss-Kahn, she said: ‘‘I am a free woman. One supports if one has decided to support.”

“Le Huffington Post” is to launch on Monday in partnership with French daily newspaper Le Monde.