Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption New York prosecutors dropped all criminal charges against Strauss-Kahn last month, though he still faces a civil suit 
 
 Dominique Strauss-Kahn has described his liaison with a hotel maid in New York, over which he was charged with attempted rape, as "inappropriate". 
 
 In his first TV interview since charges were dropped, the ex-IMF chief said he regretted the affair had lost him his chance to stand for French president, but denied using violence. 
 
 He said he had been afraid and humiliated by the US justice system. 
 
 Mr Strauss-Kahn, 62, resigned as IMF chief in May after his arrest. 
 
 The maid, Nafissatou Diallo, is bringing a civil suit against him. 
 
 The criminal charges were dropped in August when prosecutors said Ms Diallo's lack of credibility meant the case could not continue. 
 
 'Missed appointment' 
 
 Mr Strauss-Kahn was questioned by Claire Chazal, a friend of his wife Anne Sinclair, on the main Sunday night bulletin of France's TF1 - watched by a huge audience. 
 
 "What happened was more than an inappropriate relationship. It was an error," he said, adding that he regretted it infinitely. 
 
 Analysis Dominique Strauss-Kahn had waited a fortnight to give his side of the story. "Everyone has had their chance", he said, "except me." He brought with him a copy of the New York prosecutor's report. "There was neither violence nor coercion nor aggression or any criminal act," he said. "Neither scratches or injuries, no sign of violence. Not my words but the words of the prosecutor." Since his return to France, a team of lawyers and advisers have been heavily involved in the negotiations for this interview. But scripted or not, there was an apology to the French people and his family. This was a very astute politician who wanted to present himself as a victim. In all it was a polished performance from a politician who has had plenty of time to consider the questions he might be asked. The reaction in the coming days from his party and the public will tell us whether there is sympathy with that position and whether ultimately his rehabilitation is possible. Strauss-Kahn's 'moment of truth' 
 
 "I think it was a moral failing and I am not proud of it," he told Ms Chazal. 
 
 He said the incident had caused him to miss his "appointment with the French people", referring to his desire to be a Socialist candidate in France's 2012 presidential elections. 
 
 Before his arrest, he had been expected to be a strong contender to challenge President Nicolas Sarkozy. 
 
 He said he could "obviously" no longer be a candidate and would play no part in the forthcoming Socialist primaries. 
 
 He would now "take time to reflect" on his future, he added. 
 
 He said the sexual encounter "did not involve violence, constraint or aggression" and that Ms Diallo had lied, but he had no intention of negotiating with her in her civil case. 
 
 But he reserved his harshest words for the US criminal justice system. 
 
 "I was afraid, very afraid," he said, "and I was humiliated, trampled before I could even utter a word." 
 
 In addition to the New York case, Mr Strauss-Kahn faces an allegation by French author Tristane Banon that he tried to rape her in 2003. 
 
 But the former IMF chief said that Ms Banon's accusations were imaginary, adding that there was "no violence". He is suing for defamation. 
 
 He was interviewed by French police last week. ||||| Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund, maintained Sunday his sexual encounter with a New York hotel maid did not involve violence, constraint or aggression but still constituted a moral failing on his part. 
 
 In his first interview since his May 14 arrest over accusations of sexual assault, Strauss-Kahn told France's TF1 television channel "what happened was more than an inappropriate relation. It was an error." 
 
 He added "I regret it infinitely." 
 
 Still, he maintained the encounter with the maid, Nafissatou Diallo, was consensual and that she "lied" in accusing him of attacking her after she came into his room at New York's Sofitel hotel to clean. 
 
 Strauss-Kahn also dismissed as "imaginary" separate claims by a French writer that he tried to rape her during a 2003 interview, again insisting "no act of aggression, no violence" had taken place between the two. 
 
 The writer, Tristane Banon, has maintained she and Strauss-Kahn tussled on the floor during an interview in an empty apartment, with the politician trying to open her jeans and bra and putting his fingers in her mouth and underwear. 
 
 Because a police investigation into the claims is ongoing, Strauss-Kahn said he would not say anything more about the matter. 
 
 If Paris prosecutors decide to pursue the case, Strauss-Kahn _ once among the luminaries of France's Socialist party who was widely considered a top contender in next year's presidential race _ could face a possible trial. 
 
 New York prosecutors dropped all criminal charges against him in the Diallo case last month, though Strauss-Kahn is still facing a lawsuit brought by the maid, an immigrant from the African nation of Guinea. 
 
 Asked whether he had any intention of returning to politics, Strauss-Kahn said he would "take time to reflect" and rest first. 
 
 "But all my life was consecrated to being useful to the public good," he said, adding "we will see." 
 
 The interview came off as somewhat scripted, with Strauss-Kahn _ in a dark suit and navy tie _ looking unruffled and responding calmly to the questions. 
 
 The AP does not name people who report being sexually assaulted unless they agree to be identified or come forward publicly, as Diallo and Banon have done. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.
– Making his first public appearance since his arrest on rape charges in New York four months ago, Dominique Strauss-Kahn admitted today to a moral failing: "What happened was more than an inappropriate relation. It was an error," the former IMF chief said on French television. "I regret it infinitely." But he insisted that his sexual encounter with a maid in a New York hotel was consensual and that she had "lied" about it, the AP reports. Strauss-Kahn also shrugged off a French writer's rape accusation as "imaginary," saying "no act of aggression, no violence" occurred between him and Tristane Banon. A police investigation into that claim is ongoing. Asked about his political ambitions, Strauss-Kahn said he would "take time to reflect" and rest. "But all my life was consecrated to being useful to the public good," so "we will see." Strauss-Kahn saved his strongest words for America's justice system, the BBC reports: "I was afraid, very afraid," he said, "and I was humiliated, trampled before I could even utter a word."