France's former culture minister Jack Lang has been summoned to the foreign ministry to explain his links with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, amid growing calls for him to resign as chair of the Arab World Institute in Paris.
The president's and prime minister's offices each "asked the foreign minister to summon him so he can give an explanation", a source told the AFP news agency.
Lang, who served as culture minister under the late Socialist president François Mitterrand, has chaired the Arab World Institute (IMA) since 2013. A source close to President Emmanuel Macron said his office believes Lang should "think of the institution", which is half-funded by the foreign ministry.
However, on Wednesday, Lang ruled out resigning as head of the IMA. He said he was introduced to Epstein by film director Woody Allen about 15 years ago and had no knowledge of his crimes.
Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while facing federal charges of trafficking underage girls.
Lang's daughter Caroline Lang – a French film producer and former actor – resigned as head of a film producers' union on Monday following revelations about the family's links to Epstein.
She told French investigative website Mediapart that she and Epstein had agreed to set up a company together to buy artworks but she did not invest any money in it. She described herself as being "incredibly naive".
Epstein fallout triggers resignations, probes
Calls to resign
No charges have been brought against the Langs, and the mentions of them among millions of documents related to Epstein, released by the US Justice Department, do not necessarily imply wrongdoing.
But the 673 mentions of Jack Lang's name and the financial links to Epstein have led to the calls for his resignation, particularly from the left.
"I don't know if Lang is guilty of knowingly turning a blind eye to Epstein's actions and if, by associating with him, he helped to cover them up," Socialist party first secretary Olivier Faure told Franceinfo. "But what is already shocking is the way he is talking about the affair today."
He added: "At this stage, there is no evidence implicating him in the sex scandals, but he must consider resigning to protect the institution he presides over."
Ségolène Royal, a former presidential candidate and minister in the same government as Lang said his association with Epstein "will inevitably damage the image of the Arab World Institute," and that "his resignation should be a matter of course".
Within the presidential Renaissance party, Renaud Muselier, Lang's predecessor as head of IMA and now president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, also called on him to resign.
(with newswires)
