Veteran French politician quits as head of prestigious institute after Epstein links revealed | France
Former French culture minister Jack Lang has resigned as head of Paris’s prestigious Arab World Institute after his past dealings with disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were revealed and a financial investigation was launched by French prosecutors.
Lang, 86, resigned on Saturday night before attending an emergency meeting called by the French foreign ministry to discuss his links to Epstein.
Earlier on Saturday, France’s financial prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into Jack Lang and his daughter, film producer Caroline Lang, who are mentioned in the Epstein files, on suspicion of “aggravated tax evasion laundering”. Both denied any wrongdoing.
Lang’s departure is the latest example of the impact in Europe of the files released by the US Department of Justice on January 30, many of which show Epstein’s social, network and financial connections. Lang became the most well-known person in France in the convicted sex offender’s latest private message statement.
Lang was minister of culture under Socialist president François Mitterrand in the 1980s and ’90s and oversaw major modern architectural projects such as the construction of the Louvre Pyramid. Since 2013, he has headed the Institut du Monde Arabe, or Arab World Institute, a cultural and research institution that promotes understanding of the Arab world and is overseen by the French foreign ministry.
Lang is shown in Epstein files to correspond intermittently with the financier between 2012 and 2019, when Epstein died by suicide in prison.
According to news agencies, Lang’s name appeared more than 600 times in the files. His daughter was also mentioned many times.
Caroline Lang resigned from the French Association of Independent Producers this week following emails showing she set up an offshore company with Epstein in 2016 to invest in the work of young artists. He said he resigned from the offshore company in 2019 when new allegations were made against Epstein. He denied any wrongdoing.
According to the French investigative website, Caroline Lang was also named as a beneficiary of 5 million euros in Epstein’s will. Media section. He told French public broadcaster France 2 this week that he had never heard of the will, seen any such document or received any funds.
Jack Lang has denied any wrongdoing, saying he was “shocked” that his name appeared on the offshore company’s charter in 2016 and that he referred to Epstein only as a benefactor.
Jack and Caroline Lang’s lawyer, Laurent Merlet, told Agence France-Presse: “There was no movement of funds… But I think it is normal that justice wants to confirm this.” He said Caroline Lang was “calm” as she received no funding.
In a defense used by other associates of Epstein, Lang insisted that she was unaware of Epstein’s criminal behavior, even though she was convicted in 2008 of soliciting a minor for prostitution.
“How could a man so kind, so charming, so generous, do something so disgusting?” Lang told French public broadcaster France 2 this week. He said he was shocked when he learned of the allegations against Epstein in 2019.
In March 2019, Lang was seen with Epstein in front of the Louvre pyramid in Paris in a video shot months before he was charged with sex trafficking of 14-year-old girls.
Le Monde newspaper and Mediapart, which investigated the files, said that no documents published by the US justice department suggest that Lang or his daughter were involved in Epstein’s sex crimes.
Earlier this week, Lang insisted he would not resign despite calls for him to resign from all parties, including his own.
Lang said he was introduced to Epstein by American actor and director Woody Allen.
Epstein owned a large flat in west Paris and was a frequent visitor to the French capital before his death in prison in 2019.
