In 2016, the French luxury fashion house Hermès withdrew an item it had donated to a charity auction after learning it had been purchased by Jeffrey Epstein. According to an email released in this month’s batch of Epstein documents, Epstein’s assistant stated that someone from the auction platform had informed them Hermès was “not comfortable” with Epstein as a donor and that he would be refunded. This serves as a reminder that institutions—and the people who lead them—can still recognize a line they are unwilling to cross when they choose to. No sermon, no press release: just a quiet act of moral housekeeping that now stands as a lesson in basic civic integrity.
France is now realizing how rare that instinct proved to be within its own borders. The latest release of Epstein files—emails, memos, and legal documents disclosed by the U.S. Department of Justice—does not expose a hidden French pedophile ring. So far, the only confirmed French sexual link to Epstein remains Jean-Luc Brunel, the modeling agent who died in police custody in 2022 while under investigation for allegedly trafficking women to Epstein. Instead, the new documents reveal how Epstein ingratiated himself with segments of the country’s political and cultural elite, offering private jets, introductions, and offshore structures to individuals long accustomed to seeing themselves as beyond reproach.
At the center of the French controversy is Jack Lang, now 86: a former socialist culture minister under François Mitterrand, architect of the Fête de la musique, and until this week the president of the government-funded Institut du monde arabe. His name appears hundreds of times in the documents—referencing dinners, messages, film projects, birthday parties, and, above all, favors. In one 2017 message, Lang thanks Epstein for his “infinite generosity” and then asks if he might once again “abuse” his kindness by borrowing a chauffeur-driven car to attend a birthday dinner hosted by the Aga Khan, 60 kilometers from Paris. It is the language of the court, not that of the Republic.
When confronted with the correspondence, Lang has claimed good faith. He says he met Epstein “about 15 years ago” at a dinner hosted by Woody Allen, that he does not typically ask friends for their criminal records, and that he “knew nothing” of the financier’s past—even though Epstein had already served a sentence in Florida for offenses involving minors. However, on Friday evening, after pressure from the Élysée Palace, he “proposed” his resignation from the Institut du monde arabe, following the opening of a preliminary investigation by France’s National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) into suspected tax fraud and money laundering targeting him and his daughter Caroline.
It is Caroline Lang who adds the most contemporary dimension to the affair. An experienced film producer and former executive at Warner Bros in France, she co-founded a U.S. Virgin Islands company with Epstein in 2016, entirely financed by him and ostensibly intended to trade works by young French artists. The structure was not declared to French tax authorities. Two days before Epstein’s death in 2019, he named her in his will as the beneficiary of $5 million—a sum she insists she knew nothing about and has never received.
On French television, Caroline Lang described herself as “staggeringly naive,” referred to Epstein as a “generous sponsor” and “a friend, not an intimate,” and emphasized that she faces no criminal charges. The case against her is financial and ethical, not sexual. That distinction matters—and it also deepens the unease. What is troubling is the comfort with material dependence on a man whose wealth was already inseparable from documented abuse.
A familiar aspect of French public life comes into focus: a politico-cultural caste that outsources the cost of its lifestyle to “friends.” For decades, Jack Lang embodied the grandeur of the cultural left. The Epstein papers also portray him as a habitual user of private jets and chauffeured cars, the expenses of which were covered by others.The trip was funded by a “courteous, charming, generous” American acquaintance. Lang’s daughter’s actions update this pattern for the era of limited-liability companies and tax havens. Epstein’s impact on French democracy stems more from money and political influence than from sexual exploitation. In 2018 and 2019, Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s former strategist, corresponded with Epstein about how to stabilize the debt-ridden finances of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party, which at the time relied on loans from a Russian bank—though there is no evidence Epstein ever provided funding. This correspondence places France’s main far-right party within a transatlantic ecosystem where private finance and ideological alignment blur democratic boundaries.
As if to emphasize this, the Kremlin has now added a more openly hostile layer. This week, French authorities uncovered a Russian-linked disinformation campaign that sought to fabricate a connection between Emmanuel Macron and Epstein, using a fake news website, doctored screenshots, and mass amplification on social media. This episode shows how Epstein has become a kind of narrative solvent: a name easily attached to anyone a hostile state wishes to discredit.
France is not alone in this; embarrassing correspondence is also emerging in London, Rome, and Washington. But in France, the affair pierces an old self-image: that of a republic held together by culture, grand institutions, and venerable figures of the left, once thought immune to sordid compromise. The Langs could not turn down a free flight, an offshore vehicle, or a promised inheritance. Hermès, in contrast, managed it with a brief email and a refunded credit card. Moral courage is not guaranteed by office, status, or culture—it is chosen, one email, one decision at a time.
Agnès Poirier is a political commentator, writer, and critic for the British, American, and European press.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about the impact of the Epstein scandal on the French elite framed in a natural tone
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 What does this have to do with France I thought Epstein was an American story
While Jeffrey Epsteins crimes were centered in the US his network was global He had significant connections to powerful figures in France including politicians business leaders and intellectuals whom he courted for influence and legitimacy
2 Who are the main French figures linked to the scandal
The most prominent name is JeanLuc Brunel a former model scout and close associate of Epstein accused of trafficking young girls Other highprofile names from media academia and politics have been mentioned in investigations and reports leading to a cloud of suspicion over various circles
3 What illusions did the scandal shatter
It shattered the illusion that Frances eliteoften seen as a closed cultured and principled nobility of the Republicis immune to the kind of gross corruption and abuse of power seen elsewhere It exposed how wealth and status can create a protective bubble where immoral and illegal behavior is ignored or covered up
4 Has anyone in France been charged
JeanLuc Brunel was charged with rape and sexual assault before his death in prison in 2022 The broader judicial focus has been on how Epsteins network operated in France and who facilitated it Investigations are ongoing but few other public figures have faced formal charges directly related to Epstein
Advanced Followup Questions
5 Why is this hitting the French elite so hard compared to other scandals
This scandal combines several deeply sensitive issues the abuse of young women the hypocrisy of powerful men and the influence of foreign money and corruption on French institutions It strikes at the heart of Frances selfimage and its rigid class system suggesting the elite protects its own at the cost of justice
6 What role did the French media play
Initially there was relative silence which many critics attribute to the medias close ties to the political and social figures involved This changed with international pressure and investigative work by outlets like Le Monde The scandal has fueled a debate about media independence and omert among the powerful
7 Has there been any political fallout
Yes but
