Dominique Strauss-Kahn's allies are hoping that new doubts about the New York chambermaid who accused of him of sexual assault can help revive his French presidential bid. 
 
 FILE - In this Monday, June 6, 2011 file photo, former IMF leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn, right, appears at his arraignment on charges of sexually assaulting a Manhattan hotel maid, at State Supreme Court... (Associated Press) 
 
 New York prosecutors have serious questions about the housekeeper's credibility and will seek a substantial reduction in Strauss-Kahn's bail Friday, a person familiar with the case said. 
 
 Many in France welcomed the surprising news. 
 
 "Those who know Dominique Strauss-Kahn will not be surprised by this evolution of events," one of Strauss-Kahn's French lawyers and a friend of his for 40 years, Leon Lef Forster, told The Associated Press. "What he was accused of has no relation to his personality. It was something that was not credible." 
 
 Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund and a prominent member of France's Socialist Party, was considered a leading potential contender for next year's presidential election before he was charged with attempted rape in May. He denies the allegations. 
 
 His arrest upended the French political balance and appeared to dash his ambitions for France's top job. For months, polls had suggested Strauss-Kahn would beat conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy and enjoyed greater popularity than any other Socialist. 
 
 French politician Michele Sabban said Friday that the Socialists should put their presidential primary calendar on hold if Strauss-Kahn is exonerated. 
 
 "If Dominique Strauss-Kahn is cleared, I ask the Socialist Party to suspend the primary process," Sabban said on i-tele television. 
 
 Another Socialist, Jean-Marie Le Guen, expressed his "immense joy" at the developments. He said on France-Inter radio that Strauss-Kahn "will be present in the presidential campaign." 
 
 Le Guen was among many French people, both supporters and critics of Strauss-Kahn, who said he was the target of a political conspiracy to torpedo his presidential chances. Within days of his arrest, a poll suggested that a majority of French think Strauss-Kahn was the victim of a plot. 
 
 Other French politicians and commentators urged caution Friday, noting that the case against Strauss-Kahn is ongoing and that it may be premature to jump to conclusions about France's presidential elections, held in two rounds next April in May. 
 
 The prospect that Strauss-Kahn could be released was greeted with satisfaction in France in part because many here felt that the case had stained the country's reputation. 
 
 French viewers were shocked to see the man they thought might be their next president handcuffed and paraded before New York reporters. It's illegal in France to broadcast images of a suspect in handcuffs before a conviction. 
 
 Strauss-Kahn, who faces a court hearing in New York on Friday, has been under armed guard in a Manhattan town house after posting a total of $6 million in cash bail and bond. ||||| Jean-Marie Le Guen, a Socialist lawmaker, said it was “premature to talk about politics” but added that “in the battle of the presidential elections of 2012, he could play a very important role.” 
 
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 Before his arrest, Mr. Strauss-Kahn had been widely expected to resign from the International Monetary Fund to run as the Socialist candidate against President Nicolas Sarkozy next year. But after his arrest he was forced to quit, and the fractious French Socialists embarked on a potentially draining quest for a new candidate. 
 
 All that changed Friday when France awoke to reports that the case against him was crumbling. 
 
 “This is like a thunderbolt,” said Lionel Jospin, a former Socialist prime minister who is close to Mr. Strauss-Kahn. On the streets here, opinion seemed divided about whether the personal details that had emerged since Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s arrest would preclude him from high office, whatever the outcome. 
 
 “People are not going to forgive him. At a political level, he is dead,” said Agnès Bergé, 44, who works for a law firm. But Sophie Leseur, 50, an artist, said the saga could turn Mr. Strauss-Kahn into a “martyr.” 
 
 “His reputation is tarnished forever,” said Marie Chuinard, 25, a legal adviser. “I think he can come back to French political life, but internationally he is burned.” 
 
 His arrest had also led to soul-searching about the treatment of women in France, inspiring what some see as a new readiness among women to challenge male dominance. 
 
 The news from New York spread rapidly across television, radio and Internet news outlets. Blaring headlines spoke of what the conservative newspaper Le Figaro called a “thunderbolt” and the left-leaning Libération termed a “coup de théâtre.” 
 
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 Martine Aubry, the Socialist Party leader, was quoted on the Web site of the magazine L’Express as feeling “immense joy” that the case seemed to be faltering. “Speaking as a friend of DSK, I hope the American justice system will establish all the truth and allow Dominique to get out of this nightmare,” she said, using the initials by which Mr. Strauss-Kahn is widely known here. 
 
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 The development seemed to offer more ambiguous tidings for Mr. Sarkozy and his allies, and some acknowledged that they had been premature in celebrating Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s political demise. 
 
 “I think Sarkozy and his friends are going to have a very unpleasant morning,” said Claude Bartolone, a Socialist legislator. 
 
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 A presidential spokesman said Mr. Sarkozy had no immediate comment. If the charges against Mr. Strauss-Kahn are dropped, he could still affect the presidential elections, said Mr. Lang, the former culture minister. “He could still play a major role in France, without being a candidate,” he said. “This would give an extra chance for victory.” 
 
 Mr. Strauss-Kahn could even be appointed a minister under a Socialist president, Mr. Lang added. 
 
 There had been expectations that the developments in New York would unleash anti-American tirades. 
 
 Patrice Randé, 50, an insurance office manager, said the case risked stoking anti-American feeling with the impression that the New York Police Department had deliberately humiliated Mr. Strauss-Kahn. “We were made to believe he was guilty, we dropped him, we really bought this,” Mr. Randé said. “I’m shocked that they didn’t take more care.” 
 
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 But in conversations with other Parisians, there seemed to be little rancor toward the American justice system, beyond a broad sense that it was, as one French legal adviser put it, “muscular.” 
 
 Some people warned against allowing the pendulum of opinion that swung against Mr. Strauss-Kahn to swing back too quickly in his favor. Marie Nury, a boutique owner, expressed dismay at the speed with which the news seemed to persuade some people that he was blameless. “I don’t know if he’s guilty or not,” Ms. Nury said, “but this doesn’t prove he is innocent.” 
 
 With registration for the Socialists’ October primaries in full swing as a July 13 deadline approaches, some began lobbying for a suspension of the process to give Mr. Strauss-Kahn a chance to enter the race. A group of Strauss-Kahn supporters issued a statement saying the Socialist Party should “prepare to welcome Dominique Strauss-Kahn in France” and extend the timetable for primary nominations. 
 
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 A senior Socialist who requested anonymity said the party could not afford knee-jerk reactions. “What if we all embrace him again and then he turns out to be guilty after all?” he said. “We have to wait for a clear and definite outcome before making any decisions. Our voters have lost trust not just in him but the party. We have to be careful.” 
 
 The former Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, who was selected by the I.M.F. on Tuesday to take over Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s job as managing director, was not immediately available for comment. 
 
 “This doesn’t change anything,” said an I.M.F. official close to the transition. “It’s unusual, but he has resigned. She’s the new managing director, the staff are waiting for her. 
 
 “She has a full plate, and she’s ready to hit the ground running,” the official added. 
 
 As for France’s reputation, some Parisians concluded that it would never quite recover. 
 
 “People used to think about baguettes when they thought about France; now they think DSK,” said Djamila Salah, a social worker. “For France’s reputation it would be good if he was rehabilitated by the American justice system — even if a little doubt would always remain.”
– Dominique Strauss-Kahn's old job has been filled, but supporters waking to the news that the sexual assault case against him is collapsing have a new one in mind for him: president of France. Before his arrest, the former IMF chief was considered a leading contender to unseat Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's election, and his allies are now urging the Socialist Party to put its primary process on hold until he returns to France, reports AP. "I am a happy man, happy for him and for our country,” former Socialist culture minister Jack Lang tells the New York Times. "“You can’t play with the honor and dignity of someone. His life was temporarily broken, his honor put into question." The news is "like a thunderbolt," says former Socialist leader Lionel Jospin. Other French politicians, however, note that the case against Strauss-Kahn is ongoing and it may be too soon to pop the champagne.