FOUR MONTHS after his arrest in New York threw French politics into turmoil, Dominique Strauss-Kahn returned home yesterday to a media frenzy and a mixed public reception.

A phalanx of journalists, supporters and police greeted the former managing director of the International Monetary Fund and his wife Anne Sinclair when they arrived at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport just after 7am.

Smiling broadly, Mr Strauss-Kahn made no comment before being driven to his luxury apartment on Place des Vosges in Paris, where television crews had been camped for three days in expectation of the couple’s return.

It was the former finance minister’s first appearance in France since he was arrested and charged with attempting to rape a hotel maid in New York. The case against him collapsed after the maid’s credibility was called into doubt, but his hope of challenging Nicolas Sarkozy in next year’s presidential election has been thwarted and his reputation is severely damaged.

Back at his apartment, Mr Strauss-Kahn’s first visitor was Jacques Lang, the socialist former culture minister and his next-door neighbour.

“What we owe him, as socialists and friends, is to greet him here with warmth, friendship and joy,” Mr Lang said.

Mr Strauss-Kahn’s return poses a dilemma for the Socialist Party’s leadership, however. While senior party figures expressed joy and relief when the charges against their colleague were dropped last month, they are keenly aware of opinion polls showing a majority of French people do not wish to see him take a high-profile political role.

Left-wing opinion is divided, and with just a month to go before the party chooses its presidential candidate, the favourites Martine Aubry and François Hollande are said to be nervous about the prospect of a public endorsement from DSK, as he is widely known.

Ms Aubry distanced herself from him for the first time last week, saying she shared many women’s concerns “about Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s attitude to women”, while the socialist former prime minister Michel Rocard said DSK was “mentally ill”.

Mr Strauss-Kahn has not spoken publicly since his arrest, but close friends say he will give a wide-ranging interview in the coming days to explain himself to the French people.

François Pupponi, the mayor of Sarcelles, DSK’s political base north of Paris, said yesterday there would be no “welcome home” party, however, after the suggestion that a concert was being considered provoked a hail of criticism.

“What’s important is that he is back in France. He is going to be able to think about the future with more clarity,” Mr Pupponi said.

Although he still faces a civil action in New York and a separate allegation of sexual assault by the French writer Tristane Banon, supporters hope Mr Strauss-Kahn can rehabilitate himself and play a political role in the future.

“There are not so many talented people in European politics today that we can do without his contribution for long,” Mr Lang said. “But [as for] when or how, I don’t know and I don’t have the right to say.”

A public relations strategy aimed at rebuilding his reputation is reported to be in preparation, and DSK’s supporters have told journalists he could yet secure a senior position in cabinet if the socialists lead the next government.

“We need his thoughts, his voice, and, in some form, his action,” said Jean-Marie Le Guen, a close ally.

Despite initial anger at the way Mr Strauss-Kahn was paraded before US cameras in handcuffs, the socialist’s standing was badly damaged by claims about his allegedly aggressive behaviour towards women. Attempts to portray him as the victim in turn provoked a backlash from the women’s movement.

DSK’s return and his supporters’ celebratory tone drew the criticism of Anne Mansouret, Tristane Banon’s mother. “Like many French people, like many socialists, I find this homecoming and the way he’s being presented to be indecent,” she said.