“All options” are on the table, estimated its head, commenting on the case of the country’s former Minister of Culture Jack Lang and current president of the Institute of the Arab World in Paris, who has been targeted due to his ties to the convicted sex offender.
“My priority is obviously to ensure the good functioning, continuity and integrity of the Arab World Institute,” said Jean-Noel Barot from Beirut, adding: “That’s why I called its president, to give an explanation, about what concerns him.” Jack Lang “will be received on Sunday, once he returns to Paris and I am keeping all options open as regards his continued tenure.” Barro noted that “the first evidence emerging from these documents is unprecedented and very serious” and that “an in-depth investigation” is required. At the same time, however, he emphasized that this is the responsibility of the natural courts and not of the “courts of the media”.
The State Department is the main funder of the flagship Arab World Institute, chaired since 2013 by former culture minister Jack Lang.
Calls for his resignation multiplied when his relationship with Epstein was revealed after millions of documents were released by the US Department of Justice. He said he had no knowledge of Epstein’s 2008 conviction for sex crimes when they met in 2012 and described the stockbroker as a man interested in art and cinema who had been introduced to him by Woody Allen.
The 86-year-old former minister has not been charged with anything in connection with his contacts with Epstein. Lang told BFMTV that he was not his friend, that he did not know much about him, but found him “passionate about art, culture and cinema”.
The evidence that refutes him
However, files released by the US Department of Justice raise questions about Jack Lang’s account of his relationship with Epstein. They show that the two had constant communication in space, from 2012 until 2019, when the broker was also found dead in his cell.
In an email Lang sent to Epstein on April 7, 2017, nearly a decade after his conviction for prostitution of a minor, he thanked him for a “great day” the day before. “Your friendship, amazing plane (?) (pl=ne m) and extraordinary generosity touched us,” wrote Lang, who did not respond to a request for comment.
“To think about the institution”
A source close to President Emmanuel Macron said the French presidency and prime minister’s office had asked relevant ministers to call Lang and encourage him to “think about the institution”. The invitation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs followed.
The Institute of the Arab World is a cultural and research institution that promotes the understanding of the Arab world and is located on the banks of the Seine in Paris.
“I’m not afraid of anything, I’m completely clean,” Jack Lang told RTL radio, citing “naivety” in his attitude toward Epstein.
On Monday, Lang’s daughter Caroline resigned as head of the film producers’ union following revelations about the existence of an offshore company she had set up in 2016 with the American businessman.
