Jacques Lang, the former French culture minister, has resigned as president of the prestigious Institute of the Arab World in Paris following revelations about his past contacts with disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as well as after French prosecutors launched a financial investigation, the British newspaper The Guardian reported today.
Lang, 86, resigned on Saturday evening, ahead of an emergency meeting that the French Foreign Ministry was due to hold to discuss his links to Epstein.
Earlier on Saturday, French financial prosecutors opened an investigation into Jacques Lange and his daughter, film producer Caroline Lange, on suspicion of "laundering money obtained through aggravated tax evasion" after they were named in Epstein's files. Both have denied any wrongdoing.
Lang's departure is the latest example of the fallout in Europe caused by the files released by the United States Department of Justice on January 30, in which many documents revealed Epstein's social, business and financial connections. Lang is the most prominent public figure in France to be implicated in the latest release of the convicted sex offender's private messages.
Lang was Minister of Culture under Socialist President François Mitterrand in the 1980s and 1990s, overseeing major modern architectural projects, such as the construction of the Louvre Pyramid. Since 2013, he has headed the Arab World Institute, a cultural and research institution that promotes understanding of the Arab world and is overseen by the French Foreign Ministry.
Epstein's files state that Lang corresponded occasionally with the financier between 2012 and 2019. Epstein committed suicide in prison in 2019.
According to news agencies, Lang is mentioned in the files more than 600 times. His daughter is also mentioned several times.
Caroline Lang resigned from the French Union of Independent Producers this week after emails revealed that she had set up an offshore company with Epstein in 2016 to invest in the work of young artists. She said she left the offshore company when new allegations against Epstein were made in 2019. She has denied any wrongdoing.
Caroline Lang, who also appears in Epstein's will as a beneficiary of five million euros, according to the French investigative website Mediapar. She told French public broadcaster France 2 this week that she had never heard of the will and had never seen such a document or received any funds.
Jacques Lang denied any wrongdoing, saying he was "shocked" that his name appeared in the offshore company's documents in 2016 and that he addressed Epstein solely as a philanthropist.
Laurent Merlet, lawyer for Jacques and Caroline Lang, told Agence France-Presse: "There was no movement of money... But I think it is normal for the judiciary to want to verify that."
He stated that Caroline Lang was "calm" because she had not received any funds.
In a defense used by other Epstein associates, Lang insisted he was unaware of Epstein's criminal behavior despite Epstein being convicted in 2008 of soliciting a minor for prostitution.
"How could a man so polite, so charming, so generous commit such heinous acts?" Lang told French public broadcaster France 2 this week. He added that he was shocked when he learned of the allegations against Epstein in 2019.
One video shows Lang with Epstein in front of the Louvre Pyramid in Paris in March 2019, a few months before Epstein was charged with trafficking girls for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
Le Monde and Mediapart, which investigated the files, said that no document released by the US Department of Justice suggests 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 step down.
Lang said he was introduced to Epstein by American actor and director Woody Allen.
Epstein owned a spacious apartment in western Paris and was a frequent visitor to the French capital before he died in prison in 2019.
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