www.thebugle.eu ○ THE BUGLE ○ JANUARY 2013
NATIONAL NEWS ♦ 9
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French male Disgraced politician Dominique fertility falls at Strauss-Kahn settles out of court alarming rate
A
recent study has dealt a blow to the reputation of French men in the boudoir. Findings reported in the respected journal Human Reproduction show that the sperm count of French males has dropped by nearly one third in the last 20 years. Based on statistics gathered from 26,600 men, the report's authors claim that over the course of 17 years they have shown for the first time a “significant and continuous” decrease in sperm concentration of 32.3% - a worrying drop of 1.9% per year. “To our knowledge, this is the first study concluding a severe and general decrease in sperm concentration and morphology at the scale of a whole country over a substantial period,” said Dr Joelle Le Moal, one of the authors. “This constitutes a serious public health warning.” Researchers calculated that in French men with an average age of 35, sperm count was reduced from around 73.6 million per millilitre of semen in 1989 to just 49.9 million in 2005. Although the drop is significant, it is still well above the threshold of concern used by doctors for male infertility of 15 million per millilitre. It is easy to make jokes about the lack of plomb in the French crayon, but the debate on male fertility is a serious one that has been ongoing for many years. This latest research adds weight to the numerous European studies that suggest one in five young men now has a sperm count low enough to impair fertility. Prof Richard Sharpe, from the University of Edinburgh, said: “Something in our modern lifestyle, diet or environment like chemical exposure, is causing this. We still do not know which are the most important factors, but perhaps the most likely is a combination, a double whammy of changes, such as a high-fat diet combined with increased environmental chemical exposures.” The study took place over a period of many years, therefore it was important to ensure that methods remained the same for comparison throughout that period, but critics have questioned if this was indeed the case. Dr Allan Pacey, senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield, has his doubts: “In the paper, the authors claim that the methods for measurement of sperm concentration and motility 'have not changed noticeably during the study period', yet to me this is an odd thing to say as in my experience they have changed remarkably everywhere else in the world. I would argue that the 'jury is still out' on this issue”. Despite the seeming lack of male fertility, France still has one of the highest fertility rates in all of Europe, with an average 2.01 children born for every French woman. ■
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D
ominique StraussKahn, the disgraced former head of the IMF, has settled his case of sexual assault out of court with a New York hotel maid. Nafissatou Diallo claims that the man many tipped to be France's next president attacked her in his room at the upmarket Sofitel hotel in Manhattan in May 2011. The settlement in the civil lawsuit remains officially undisclosed, but is estimated to be in the region of $6 million. The payment marks an apparent end to DSK's New York legal battles, but it has come at more than just a financial cost for the 63-year-old. As well as losing his job at the IMF, it ended any realistic chance Strauss-Kahn had for a run at the French presidency. Following his arrest, further lurid details of his lifestyle soon emerged as other women came forward to accuse him of sexual crimes. It is also likely to have contributed to his separation from his wife, French journalist Anne Sinclair. Miss Diallo, a mother of one, told police that the 63-yearold Frenchman came out of the bathroom naked, assaulted her and forced her to have oral
sex when she arrived to clean his room. She described it as a “violent and sadistic act”. DSK was arrested hours later after hurriedly leaving the hotel and boarding a plane at John F Kennedy airport. He claimed that the act was consensual, but was taken to Riker's Island jail and charged with multiple offences including attempted rape, sexual abuse,
criminal sexual act, unlawful imprisonment and forcible touching. All charges were later dropped, however, after Manhattan prosecutors cited “inconsistencies” in the housekeeper's statements. Mr Strauss-Kahn was allowed to return to France, although Ms Diallo pursued her case through the civil courts. Outside the court, flanked by
her lawyers, Ms Diallo smiled and said: “I just want to say I thank everyone who supported me all over the world. I thank everybody.” DSK, who was not in court, gave no comment after it was announced that a settlement had been reached; neither did his legal representatives present at the court, other than to thank the judge. ■