PARIS — The release of Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Friday from house arrest in New York represented a startling turnaround, sharpening the focus of political debate here on a central and potent issue: with the weakening of sexual assault charges against him, will he be able to resume a potentially stellar career that could lead to the presidency of his country?

The question divided opinion as much among Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s own Socialist Party followers as those on the right. Moments after his release, the party spokesman, Benoît Hamon, told reporters that the court’s decision had come as an “intense relief.” Beyond that, the calculation likely to absorb party strategists revolved around the degree to which Mr. Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund, had been damaged by weeks of disclosures and accusations that, even days ago, seemed to have drawn an abrupt and indelible line across his ambitions and his career.

Before Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s release from house arrest, two well-placed law enforcement officials in New York said that the case against him was on the verge of collapse because of major questions about the credibility of his accuser, a hotel housekeeper who said he had sexually assaulted her in a suite at the Sofitel hotel in Manhattan in mid-May.

The surprising shift in his favor both fascinated and divided France on Friday, spurring calls from his supporters for his rehabilitation. “France needs his competence, his talents and his international standing,” said the former culture minister Jack Lang, a Socialist and close ally. Earlier, other Socialists expressed doubts.