Tristane Banon

Tristane Banon (born 13 June 1979) is a French journalist and writer. She is the daughter of Anne Mansouret and Gabriel Banon. She is a regular contributor on youth affairs at the French news website Atlantico.[1]

Tristane Banon
Banon in 2001
Banon in 2001
Born (1979-06-13) 13 June 1979
Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
OccupationJournalist and writer
LanguageFrench
Notable awardsI Forgot to Kill Her (J'ai oublié de la tuer) selected for Chambéry 2005 festival for first novels – "Festival du premier roman Chambéry". Archived from the original on 14 May 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2011.

Early life and education

Tristane Banon was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Île-de-France. She is the daughter of Anne Mansouret, Socialist vice-president of the general council of Eure, representing Évreux-Est, in Upper Normandy.[2] and French-Moroccan businessman Gabriel Banon who served as industrial policy advisor to French President Georges Pompidou and as economic advisor to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.[3][4] She is of Moroccan Jewish descent on her father's side and Iranian and Belgian on her mother's side. Her mother, Anne Mansouret, was born in Tehran, to an Iranian father and Belgian mother.[5]

She is a god-daughter of Dominique Strauss-Kahn's second wife Brigitte Guillemette.

Banon earned a diploma from the Ecole Supérieure de Journalisme de Paris.

Career

Banon initially worked as a journalist, anchorwoman on a television show about new information and communication technologies, and as a sport journalist.[3][6] She was employed in the politics department, and later the cultural department, of the French weekly Paris-Match, then worked at the daily newspaper Le Figaro.[6][7]

Her first book, a long essay entitled Erreurs avouées… (au masculin) about the biggest mistakes in the lives of political figures, was published in November 2003 by Anne Carrière.[1][7] A short novel, Noir délire, inspired by the death of French actress Marie Trintignant, was released the same year in the literary review Bordel.[1]

Her first novel J’ai oublié de la tuer ("I Forgot to Kill Her") was published in September 2004 by éditions Anne Carrière (édition Le Livre de Poche n° 30743). The novel, described by Banon as part-autobiographical, tells the story of a young girl's ruined childhood, neglected by her mother and forced to fend for herself against an alcoholic and abusive nanny.[3]

Her second novel Trapéziste ("Trapezist") appeared in 2006, followed by Daddy Frénésie ("Daddy Frenzy") in 2008.[1]

Allegations against Dominique Strauss-Kahn

On 5 February 2007, during a television chat-show, Banon alleged that Dominique Strauss-Kahn had attempted to rape her in 2002 during the course of an interview while she was researching Erreurs avouées: "It ended really badly. We ended up fighting. It finished really violently … I said the word 'rape' to scare him but it didn't seem to scare him much… "[8][9] Strauss-Kahn's name was initially bleeped out when the television program was broadcast. The news website AgoraVox later repeated the allegations with his name included and Banon subsequently repeated them on a video recording.[10][11] Banon's mother, Socialist Party politician Anne Mansouret, said in an interview that she had persuaded her daughter not to file charges at the time of the alleged rape attempt.[3][10][12]

On 16 May 2011, it was reported Banon planned to file a legal complaint against Strauss-Kahn.[12] On 20 May, Banon's lawyer, David Koubbi, said that neither he nor Banon wanted to be used (instrumentalisé) by the American judicial system in the New York v. Strauss-Kahn case, later dismissed due to the unreliability in the statements of the main prosecution witness.[13][14] On 4 July, following Strauss-Kahn's release from house-arrest on his own recognizance in the New York case, David Koubbi said that Banon would file a complaint against Strauss-Kahn the following day.[15][16] Strauss-Kahn's lawyers responded by saying they would in turn file a complaint of false accusation (dénonciation calomnieuse) against Banon.[17]

The allegations were referred to, but without naming Banon explicitly, in Christophe Dubois' and Christophe Deloire's best-selling 2006 book Sexus Politicus about the private lives and sexual mores of leading French political figures.[7][18][19] They were also the subject of the concluding chapter of Michel Taubmann's authorised biography Le Roman vrai de Dominique Strauss-Kahn ("The True Story of Dominique Strauss-Kahn").[20] Banon contested the version of events described in the biography when it appeared in May 2011.[21]

In July 2011, the Paris prosecutor's office opened a preliminary investigation into Banon's complaint. Strauss-Kahn's lawyers said he had instructed them to open a countercomplaint against Banon for slander.[22] In September Banon stated that if there is no criminal prosecution, she would bring a civil case against Strauss-Kahn.[23] According to a report in L'Express, Strauss-Kahn admits to attempting to kiss Banon.[24] On 29 September, Banon confronted Strauss-Kahn at a Paris police station at the request of French prosecutors investigating the alleged assault.[25][26] In October the French public prosecutors dropped the investigation. They stated that there was a lack of evidence regarding the allegation of attempted rape.[27] Although there was evidence of the less serious charge of "sexual assault", that charge could not be prosecuted because of the statute of limitations. According to transcripts of the police interrogation released by Strauss-Kahn's lawyers, Strauss-Kahn stated that, as Banon was leaving the apartment, he attempted to embrace her and to kiss her on the mouth; she pushed him away forcefully, saying something like "What are you doing?" and left.[28]

In 2020, Banon was featured in the Netflix documentary series Room 2806: The Accusation, which details the New York allegation and other cases of alleged sexual assault by Strauss-Kahn, based on interviews with persons involved.

Works

Novellas
  • Noir délire [Black Delirium], Paris, éditions Flammarion (Bordel, numéro deux: Toujours aussi pute), 2003 – (ISBN 978-2080686114)

Novels
  • J'ai oublié de la tuer [I Forgot To Kill Her], Paris, éditions Anne Carrière, 2004 – Prix du premier roman de Chambéry en 2005 – (ISBN 978-2843372841)
  • Trapéziste [Trapezist], Paris, éditions Anne Carrière, 2006 – (ISBN 978-2843374265)
  • Daddy Frénésie [Daddy Frenzy], Paris, éditions Plon, 21 août 2008 – (ISBN 978-2259207607)

Essays
  • Erreurs avouées… au masculin [Confessed errors...the masculine way], Paris, éditions Anne Carrière, 2003
  • Le bal des hypocrites, Vauvert, éditions Au Diable Vauvert, 2011

References
  1. "Tristane Banon". Atlantico (in French). Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  2. "Anne Mansouret". Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  3. "Who is the French writer accusing Strauss-Kahn of sex crimes?". France 24. 6 July 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  4. Site du Strategic Partners Group, Limited Archived 8 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Anne Mansouret, un franc-parler imprvisible qui agace le PS" (in French). Le Point. 27 July 2011.
  6. Lazard, Violette (5 July 2011). "" Si vous voulez la comprendre, lisez ses livres "". Le Parisien (in French). Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  7. Samuel, Henry (4 July 2011). "Dominique Strauss-Kahn: profile of 'attempted rape victim' Tristane Banon". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011.
  8. Samuel, Henry (16 May 2011). "Dominique Strauss-Kahn 'acted like chimpanzee on heat', woman claims". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
  9. Lichfield, John (17 May 2011). "Dominique Strauss-Kahn: What's in a reputation?". The Independent. London. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
  10. Alberici, Emma (17 May 2011). "IMF chief a 'rutting chimp', says French writer". ABC News. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
  11. "Tristane Banon, DSK et AgoraVox : retour sur une omerta médiatique (avec vidéo exclusive)". 18 May 2011.
  12. Steven Erlanger (16 May 2011). "'I Didn't Wish to Be the Girl Who Had a Problem …'". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
  13. Keaten, Jamey (20 May 2011). "French woman won't demand charges against IMF head". Associated Press. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  14. "T. Banon ne porte pas plainte pour l'instant" (in French). BFMTV.com. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  15. Samuel, Henry (4 July 2011). "Dominique Strauss-Kahn facing second sex charge". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 4 July 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
  16. Claire Chartier and Delphine Saubaber (4 July 2011). "Tristane Banon: "Pourquoi je porte plainte contre DSK"". L'Express (in French). Reuters/Charles Platiau. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  17. "DSK va porter plainte pour dénonciation calomnieuse". Le Point (in French). 4 July 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
  18. "Tristane Banon, dix ans entre scandale et silence". @rrêt sur images (in French). 19 May 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  19. Stainville, Raphaël (24 May 2011). "DSK avait un besoin effréné et systématique de séduire". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  20. Verhaeghe, Éric. "Le roman vrai de DSK qui tombe à pic" (in French). Atlantico. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  21. De Charette, Laurence. "À Paris, Tristane Banon étudie encore sa stratégie". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  22. De La Baume, Maïa (8 July 2011). "French Prosecutors Open Strauss-Kahn Inquiry". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  23. "French author Tristane Banon vows to sue Dominique Strauss-Kahn". 21 September 2011.
  24. "Report: Dominique Strauss-Kahn Admits He Tried to Kiss French Writer: Gothamist". Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  25. "Strauss-Kahn meets rape attempt accuser Tristane Banon face to face". 30 September 2011.
  26. Samuel, Henry (29 September 2011). "Dominique Strauss-Kahn v Tristane Banon: their version of events". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011.
  27. "French Strauss-Kahn sex assault probe dropped". Reuters. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  28. Agence France-Presse (14 October 2011). "DSK: "Elle m'a repoussé, j'ai relâché mon étreinte"". Télévision Suisse Romande. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
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