DSK kiss-and-tell book approved

A court in Paris rejected Strauss-Kahn's attempt to ban the book from going on sale on Tuesday, but ordered that the author Macela lacub and publishing house Stock pay 50,000 euros ($65,252) in compensation.

The court also upheld a request from Strass-Kahn's lawyers for every copy of the work to contain an insert of his choosing.

Strauss-Kahn told the court earlier on Tuesday that the work was "despicable and false" and had "wreaked havoc" on his personal life. He argued that his former lover was simply trying to make money.

As well as a ban, Strauss-Kahn had been seeking damages of 100,000 euros for libel from lacub and Stock as well as a similar amount from magazine le Nouvel Observateur, which carried excerpts of the work. The magazine was forced to pay 25,000 euros in damages and was ordered to publish details on the fine.

In the book, entitled Belle et Bete (believed to be a double entendre for Beauty and the Beast or Pretty and Stupid), lacub claims to have had a relationship with the economist and former French finance minister from January to August 2012. In it, he is portrayed as an egotistical, vulgar and cultureless combination of a man and a pig.

Lacub also touches on allegations he sexually assaulted a New York hotel maid, which prompted his resignation as head of the International Monetary Fund in May 2011. Charges against him were dropped in August 2011, although the incident shutdown his expected bid for the Socialist nomination for the French presidency.

Strauss-Kahn is still being investigated in France over claims he hired prostitutes for sex parties in Europe and Washington.

ccp/jm (AFP, dpa)