Amid a media firestorm and widespread public concern in France following revelations about former minister Jack Lang's connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who met on Thursday, February 5, asked Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot to summon the president of the Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA, Arab World Institute) to provide an "explanation." "It is up to the government to appoint the president of the Institut du Monde Arabe, through the Foreign Ministry," the prime minister's office pointed out.
While the government does not need to comment on the merits of the case, it expects Lang to clarify the emails implicating him among the millions of documents linked to the Epstein scandal. Lang, whose name appears 673 times, should "think about the institution," meaning the IMA, the emblematic cultural body he had led since 2013, Elysée sources added. While currently traveling in Marrakech, Morocco, Lang is expected to appear on Sunday at the Foreign Ministry to provide his explanation.
The former culture minister under Socialist President François Mitterrand, now 86 years old, formally ruled out resigning on Wednesday. Lang cited his "naïveté" regarding the revelations about his past ties to Epstein, who died in prison in 2019. No charges have been brought against him, and his presence in the documents do not implicate him in any wrongdoing; nonetheless, the government anticipates strong resistance from the IMA president.
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While the government does not need to comment on the merits of the case, it expects Lang to clarify the emails implicating him among the millions of documents linked to the Epstein scandal. Lang, whose name appears 673 times, should "think about the institution," meaning the IMA, the emblematic cultural body he had led since 2013, Elysée sources added. While currently traveling in Marrakech, Morocco, Lang is expected to appear on Sunday at the Foreign Ministry to provide his explanation.
The former culture minister under Socialist President François Mitterrand, now 86 years old, formally ruled out resigning on Wednesday. Lang cited his "naïveté" regarding the revelations about his past ties to Epstein, who died in prison in 2019. No charges have been brought against him, and his presence in the documents do not implicate him in any wrongdoing; nonetheless, the government anticipates strong resistance from the IMA president.
You have 44.07% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.