Dominique Strauss-Kahn has announced that he will not run as President of France despite assault charges having been dropped against him over an alleged sexual attack in a New York hotel in May.

The Socialist Party politician said during a television interview on Sunday that he would "obviously" not be a candidate in next year's elections. He said instead that he would be spending some time on the sidelines, taking "time to reflect" on his career.

Mr Strauss-Kahn apologised for his actions concerning Nafissatou Diallo, the 32 year-old Guinean chambermaid, calling them a "moral failure".

He said he was "not proud" of his behaviour in the hotel room, but insisted there was "no violence". He also said that renewed rape accusations by French journalist Tristane Banon were "imaginary, slanderous".

But French newspapers were broadly critical of his television appearance. In Le Figaro, political opponents of Mr Strauss-Kahn described him as a "megalomaniac", while Liberation said there was a "furious desire to move on".