Jack Lang, former Culture Minister, has resigned from the presidency of the Arab World Institute following revelations about his financial ties to Jeffrey Epstein. A preliminary investigation for aggravated tax fraud laundering has been opened against him and his daughter Caroline by the National Financial Prosecutor's Office. President Macron has acknowledged this decision and urged U.S. justice to continue its work.
Revelations published on January 30, 2026, by U.S. justice, including millions of emails, have highlighted financial ties between Jack Lang, his daughter Caroline, and American financier Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019. According to Mediapart, which revealed these facts on February 2, Caroline Lang founded a British Virgin Islands offshore company with Epstein in 2016 for acquiring artworks. Jack Lang and his daughter deny any wrongdoing, stating the relationships were legitimate and without personal remuneration.
Under pressure from President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, Jack Lang proposed his resignation from the presidency of the Arab World Institute (IMA) on February 7, 2026. The government acknowledged this decision on February 9, at the Wine Paris trade show, where Macron stated that 'U.S. justice must do its work.' The former minister, who had led the IMA for thirteen years, submitted his letter to Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, reaffirming his innocence.
Meanwhile, the National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) opened a preliminary investigation on February 8 for 'aggravated tax fraud laundering' targeting Jack and Caroline Lang, based on Mediapart's revelations. Caroline Lang, who had already resigned from her position at the Independent Production Syndicate, left the board of the Le Refuge Foundation on February 9. This organization supports LGBT+ youth in family breakdowns.
Following threats on social media, Jack Lang and his wife Monique Buczynski have been under police protection since February 9, according to sources close to the case. His lawyer, Laurent Merlet, welcomed the investigation, convinced it will prove his client's innocence. These events mark a turning point for the Mitterrand-era figure, long influential in French cultural circles.
