French politicians urge former culture minister to resign because of Epstein files

BRUSSELS

French politicians urged former Culture Minister Jack Lang to step down Thursday as president of the Arab World Institute (IMA) after his name appeared in documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Lang is mentioned more than 600 times in documents made public in the US concerning Epstein, the late American billionaire who was accused of running a sex trafficking network involving underage girls and was found dead in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial.

Several political figures said Lang's leadership of the institute damages its credibility.

French Member of the European Parliament Marion Marechal said Lang should resign "out of personal dignity" due to his past ties with Epstein.

"I think Mr. Jack Lang should resign from the Arab World Institute," Marechal said on a program on Sud Radio. "When you see the privileged ties he maintained with that scoundrel ... I think that now, out of personal dignity, he should resign and cease representing France in this institute," she added.

Marechal noted Lang’s daughter resigned from her position, "At least his daughter had that dignity," she said.

But Lang ruled out resigning. In contrast, his daughter, Caroline, resigned from the Independent Producers Union after her name appeared in exchanges with Epstein.

Socialist Party (PS) Secretary-General Olivier Faure told the France Info broadcaster that Lang should consider resigning to protect the institute..

Renaud Muselier, president of the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region and former head of the IMA, an organization that promotes Arab culture, told the Le Parisien newspaper Wednesday that Lang's position had become "extremely harmful" to the institute.

According to the released documents, Lang suggested cultural visits to Epstein during his time in Paris. The files also indicate that Epstein lent Lang his private plane for a trip to Morocco in April 2017.

One email shows Lang asking Epstein questions about children's religious and sexual education.

Lang told the French television channel BFMTV on Monday that Epstein "was not a friend," but he does not regret having known the late disgraced US financier and convicted sex offender.

Lang, however, said he does not feel remorse about the past acquaintance. "I’m not in the habit of spitting on people I knew at one time and who later are accused of crimes," he said.