Pressure mounted Friday on former French culture minister Jack Lang to resign as president of the Arab World Institute, after newly released U.S. court documents detailed years of correspondence between Lang and the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to Reuters.
France’s foreign ministry summoned Lang for talks over the matter, as senior government officials urged him to consider the impact of the revelations on the Paris-based cultural institution he has led since 2013.
The renewed controversy follows the release last week of files by the U.S. Department of Justice, which show intermittent email exchanges between Lang and Epstein from around 2012 until Epstein’s death by suicide in a New York jail in 2019. Epstein had pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Lang, 86, has not been accused of wrongdoing. He has said he was unaware of Epstein’s criminal conviction at the time they met and described their relationship as limited.
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Speaking earlier this week, Lang said Epstein was merely an acquaintance with an interest in art and cinema, introduced to him by U.S. filmmaker Woody Allen.
“He was not a friend,” Lang told French broadcaster BFMTV, adding that he knew little about Epstein but found him “passionate about art, culture and cinema.”
However, review of the newly released files shows Lang’s name appearing more than 600 times, raising questions about how Lang has portrayed the relationship.
In one email dated April 7, 2017—nearly a decade after Epstein’s conviction—Lang thanked Epstein for a meeting the previous day, writing that his “friendship” and “extraordinary generosity” had deeply touched him.
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A source close to President Emmanuel Macron said the presidency and the prime minister’s office had asked relevant ministers to summon Lang and encourage him to “think about the institution.” France’s foreign ministry confirmed it had requested a meeting with Lang on Sunday.
The Arab World Institute, located on the banks of the Seine, is a prominent cultural and research center dedicated to promoting understanding of the Arab world and maintains close ties with the French state.
Despite the mounting pressure, Lang has defended himself publicly. “I fear nothing, and I am clean as a whistle,” he told RTL radio earlier this week.
Lang served multiple terms as France’s culture and education minister between 1981 and 2002 and has remained a prominent figure in French cultural life for decades.
The latest document release has intensified global scrutiny of Epstein’s relationships with powerful public figures. According to Reuters, the files reference several high-profile individuals, including Britain’s Prince Andrew, the brother of King Charles III, and Peter Mandelson, the former UK ambassador to the United States.
