Strauss-Kahn to meet his accuser face to face

The former IMF chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, is to be confronted by a French woman who has accused him of attempted rape.

The judicial "confrontation" in the presence of investigators and lawyers – a common practice in France – has been requested by his accuser, Tristane Banon, 32. The meeting, their first since the alleged attack in 2003, was likely to take place in Paris next week.

In a television interview on Sunday, his first media appearance since he was cleared of attempted rape charges in New York, Mr Strauss-Kahn described Ms Banon's allegations as "imaginary". He has already admitted to French police that he made "advances" to the young woman but said that he did not persist when she rebuffed him.

Ms Banon said that she wanted a face-to-face meeting with Mr Strauss-Kahn to see if he could "look me straight in my eyes" and say that that she was "imagining things".

The state prosecutor must soon decide whether to pursue the case. Four options are possible. An investigating magistrate could be appointed to pursue the inquiry. The prosecutor could decide to bring charges against Mr Strauss-Kahn. He could decide there is insufficient evidence, or that there is evidence only of sexual assault, which would have had to be prosecuted within three years of the alleged offence.

Ms Banon was due to lead a demonstration by feminist groups outside the Palais de Justice in Paris yesterday to protest against the alleged lack of support given to French women when they are subjected to sexual violence.