The majority of the French people have shown firm support for the embattled IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn four days after his arrest on charges of attempted rape, a poll shows.

Some 57% of those questioned in a poll this week believe that Mr Strauss-Kahn, a widely popular Socialist politician who was preparing to launch a campaign for the presidency next year, is a victim of a smear campaign.

The figure shoots up to 70% among Socialist voters.

A total of 29% believe that the incumbent president, Nicolas Sarkozy, will gain the most benefits if Strauss-Kahn is kicked out of the race, though there is no implication that he has masterminded the plot.

"It highlights France's denial... People do not want to believe it and it is interesting from the collective psychology point of view," said J?rome Sainte-Marie, political director at polling group CSA, in an interview with 20 Minutes, the free daily for whom the survey was taken, along with BFMTV et RMC.

The survey questioned 1,007 people on May 16.

The images of Dominique Strauss-Kahn in handcuffs have circled the globe, but they are particularly disturbing to the French.

French law prohibits publishing the images of handcuffed suspects before they are convicted.

Many in France are shocked by the media coverage of a man that was until recently seen as a possible candidate for president.