Former French Culture Minister Jack Lang "proposed" his resignation as president of the prestigious Arab World Institute (IMA) in Paris on Saturday, according to a letter addressed to the Foreign Minister, seen by AFP. A day earlier, the National Financial Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation against Lang for his alleged ties to American financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
First modification: 02/07/2026 - 20:49
The president of the Arab World Institute (IMA), Jack Lang, offered his resignation this Saturday, February 7, at that prestigious cultural center in Paris. In a letter addressed to the French Foreign Minister, to which the AFP agency has had access, he specifies that this could become effective "at an upcoming extraordinary meeting of the board of directors."
The French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, and the Elysée indicated that they "take note" of this proposal, as Jack Lang is increasingly implicated in the revelation of the files of the sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.
"I propose to present my resignation during an upcoming extraordinary meeting of the board of directors," wrote the former French Minister of Culture, who was summoned on Sunday to Quai d'Orsay, headquarters of the Foreign Ministry in Paris.
On Friday, the National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) opened a preliminary investigation against Jack Lang and his daughter Caroline for "aggravated tax fraud laundering."
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, whose portfolio oversees the IMA, added, returning to the French capital after an international tour, that he will begin "the procedure to designate his successor as head of the IMA and convene a board of directors within a period of seven days that will appoint an interim president."
"Unfounded" accusations
Jack Lang's name came to the fore after the publication by the US Department of Justice, at the end of January, of new documents on the American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which revealed links between the two men, between 2012 and 2019, when the financier died by suicide in prison.
Lang's name joins that of multiple world figures profiled in Epstein's file, from the British royal family to Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.
Although there are currently no charges against the former minister, the mention of his name 673 times in conversations with Jeffrey Epstein and his links to the confessed sex offender have led many members of the political class to demand his departure from the IMA.
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In a series of posts on social media, Lang described that he took the news of the PNF investigation against him "with serenity and even relief," since, in his words, "it will allow the accusations relating to attacks against my integrity and honor to be completely clarified."
"The accusations against me are unfounded," Lang added, before ensuring that he would prove his innocence, "beyond the sound and fury of the media and digital courts."
With AFP
Text adapted from the original article in French
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