Veteran French politician resigns as head of prestigious institute over Epstein links

Jack Lang, a former French culture minister, has resigned as head of Paris’s prestigious Arab World Institute after revelations of his past contacts with the disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the launch of a financial investigation by French prosecutors.

According to The Guardian, Lang sent a corresponding letter to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.

“The current situation <…> is harmful. It can only damage this magnificent institution,” Franceinfo radio quoted from the letter. Against this backdrop, Lang pledged to resign “at the next extraordinary meeting of the board of directors” in order to “protect the institute” and “calmly refute all accusations.”

The French Foreign Ministry and the Élysée Palace said they had “taken note” of Lang’s resignation request. Barrot, for his part, stated that he would initiate the procedure to appoint Lang’s successor and promised to convene an extraordinary meeting of the institute’s board of directors within seven days.

The foreign minister said a hearing involving Lang at the French Foreign Ministry that had been scheduled for February 8 was cancelled in this context.

By Khagan Isayev