Former French Culture Minister Jack Lang has stepped down as head of Paris's prestigious Arab World Institute amid revelations about his connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The move comes after a financial investigation was launched by French prosecutors into Lang and his daughter, film producer Caroline Lang, on suspicion of tax fraud laundering.
Lang, 86, tendered his resignation on Saturday night ahead of an emergency meeting with the French foreign ministry to discuss his links to Epstein. The investigation, which began earlier in the day, follows the release of thousands of private messages from Epstein's phone records by the US Department of Justice last month.
According to reports, Lang was a frequent correspondent to Epstein between 2012 and 2019, despite knowing that he had been convicted of soliciting minors for prostitution. The French culture minister at the time was overseeing major architectural projects such as the Louvre Pyramid. In a video released this week, Lang can be seen with Epstein in front of the Louvre pyramid in Paris months before his arrest.
Lang's daughter, Caroline, also faced scrutiny after it emerged she had founded an offshore company to invest in young artists and had been named as a beneficiary of €5m in Epstein's will. However, she denied ever receiving any funds and insisted that she had quit her involvement with the company when further allegations against Epstein were made.
Lang has consistently maintained that he was unaware of Epstein's criminal activities despite being a frequent correspondent to him. He said he was "shocked" to learn of the allegations against Epstein in 2019 and denied ever being implicated in his sex crimes.
The resignation of Lang as head of the Arab World Institute comes amid growing pressure for public figures to come clean about their ties to Epstein. The case has sparked widespread outrage across Europe, with many calling for greater transparency on this issue.
Lang, 86, tendered his resignation on Saturday night ahead of an emergency meeting with the French foreign ministry to discuss his links to Epstein. The investigation, which began earlier in the day, follows the release of thousands of private messages from Epstein's phone records by the US Department of Justice last month.
According to reports, Lang was a frequent correspondent to Epstein between 2012 and 2019, despite knowing that he had been convicted of soliciting minors for prostitution. The French culture minister at the time was overseeing major architectural projects such as the Louvre Pyramid. In a video released this week, Lang can be seen with Epstein in front of the Louvre pyramid in Paris months before his arrest.
Lang's daughter, Caroline, also faced scrutiny after it emerged she had founded an offshore company to invest in young artists and had been named as a beneficiary of €5m in Epstein's will. However, she denied ever receiving any funds and insisted that she had quit her involvement with the company when further allegations against Epstein were made.
Lang has consistently maintained that he was unaware of Epstein's criminal activities despite being a frequent correspondent to him. He said he was "shocked" to learn of the allegations against Epstein in 2019 and denied ever being implicated in his sex crimes.
The resignation of Lang as head of the Arab World Institute comes amid growing pressure for public figures to come clean about their ties to Epstein. The case has sparked widespread outrage across Europe, with many calling for greater transparency on this issue.
So, what's up with Jack Lang? I mean, 86 and still getting caught up in some shady stuff... 
It's weird that he's the head of a cultural institute but he's got ties to someone as dodgy as Epstein. I don't buy his story about being shocked by all the allegations either. You gotta wonder what else he might be hiding. And Caroline Lang, her dad's daughter, seems pretty sketchy too with her offshore company and connections to Epstein's will. 
It just feels like there's a whole lot of secrets being kept here... 
he was in charge of arts & culture and had access to so much power and influence and he's just...connected to epstein like what even is that?? 
his daughter too with all the shady business deals it's like they're trying to distance themselves but at the same time i feel bad for them since this is super public and it must be really embarrassing for them to deal with now 
plus think about how many people might have been affected by epstein's crimes 
anyway i'm just gonna stick to following the news from a safe distance right now 
. Like, what's up with that? He was culture minister at the time and was all about overseeing big projects like the Louvre Pyramid... and he's also got a daughter who's got ties to Epstein too 
. And Caroline Lang is all like "I never took any money from Epstein" 
... yeah right! Anyway, it's not the first time this guy's been in hot water, and I'm glad he's finally stepping down 
. But still, it's kinda weird how some people think they can just hang out with a convicted sex offender and be cool 
.
just when u think those with power are above the law... lang resigns after gettin caught up in epstein's shady network 
can't believe he had connections to epstein and now his daughter's got her own mess goin on 
like how could he even be associated with Epstein? 
Lang was the culture minister back in 2012 when Epstein got convicted, can you believe it? 
Lang said he didn't know about all the sick stuff Epstein did but come on, they were emailing each other like what? 
cant believe he kept getting away with it for so long... 86 years old and still trying to cover his tracks lol. i mean, who do you think is the bigger scandal here? The fact that he was friends with a convicted sex offender or that he's got some shady financial dealings going on? 
. This whole thing reeks of smoke and mirrors...
I'm all about second chances but this guy has been down some shady roads. It's not cool that his daughter was involved too, especially with Epstein's will and all. 
. Anyway, I guess the European public needs to stay vigilant when it comes to these sorts of scandals... you can't let people like Lang get away with their privilege and power.