The release of over 3.5 million pages of Jeffrey Epstein documents by the US Department of Justice on January 30, 2026 has triggered a political firestorm in France, with revelations implicating former ministers, cultural figures, and raising questions about potential foreign financing of political parties. The unprecedented disclosure has prompted La France Insoumise to call for a cross-party parliamentary inquiry commission.
Among the most damaging revelations concerns former Culture Minister Jack Lang, 86, and his daughter Caroline. Documents reveal that Caroline Lang co-founded an offshore company called Prytanee LLC with Jeffrey Epstein in 2016, registered in the US Virgin Islands. The company, whose stated purpose was purchasing artworks, received $1.4 million in deposits. Caroline Lang held half the shares through the "Pierre Trust" and admitted to Mediapart that she "was incredibly naive" and did not declare the company to French tax authorities.
Perhaps most striking, Caroline Lang appears in a financial testament signed by Jeffrey Epstein just two days before his death in 2019, with a promised inheritance of $5 million, a sum she claims to have been unaware of. Additionally, email exchanges from March 2015 reveal Jack Lang negotiating the sale of a Marrakech riad called "Ksar Masa," with the former minister responding about financial conditions: "the price is 5,400,000 euros, offshore."
Jack Lang issued a statement to AFP saying he "fully assumes the connections" he created with Epstein "at a time when nothing suggested he could be at the heart of a criminal network." His daughter Caroline has resigned from her position as general delegate of the SPI film producers' union.
Former Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire finds himself at the center of equally troubling revelations. Documents show that Olivier Colom, former diplomatic advisor to President Nicolas Sarkozy, orchestrated email exchanges in 2013 soliciting Epstein for "any ideas" to help Le Maire "raise money" for a future campaign. According to sources close to Le Maire cited by Sud Radio, Colom invited him to a house in New York in September 2013 for a meeting with business representatives, without disclosing whose house it was. Upon meeting Epstein, Le Maire reportedly felt he had walked into a trap and left quickly.
In a May 2018 email to mathematician and then-MP Cédric Villani, Epstein wrote: "I realized that Bruno Le Maire had been to my New York house and I wondered if you could pass on an invitation for him to come see me in Paris." Le Maire has remained silent on the revelations and has not responded to press inquiries.
Olivier Colom's own correspondence with Epstein raises serious concerns. The former Sarkozy advisor exchanged what French media describe as "salacious" and racist emails with the convicted sex offender. In one message, Epstein told Colom he was on his Caribbean island "with an aquarium full of girls."
The documents also mention Marine Le Pen and the Rassemblement National indirectly. A July 2018 email from journalist Michael Wolff to Epstein describes a London meeting with former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, who discussed "refinancing" of the RN with Louis Aliot, then described as Le Pen's husband. The email suggests discussions about funding for the 2019 European elections, with Wolff noting his alarm that "a good portion of FN money comes from Russia." The RN denies any formal funding request to Epstein.
Other French personalities mentioned include banker Ariane de Rothschild, mathematician Cédric Villani who exchanged emails with Epstein in 2017, and the late Jean-Luc Brunel, the French modeling agent who was listed in Epstein's 2012 trust for up to $5 million. Brunel, who revealed Sharon Stone among others, was described as a "supplier" of minors for Epstein's network and committed suicide in a French prison in 2022 while awaiting trial on rape charges.
The documents confirm France was central to Epstein's operations. The financier was a regular at the Hotel Bristol in Paris before purchasing a mansion on Avenue Foch, where he received numerous minors with French first names and many French guests. His HSBC accounts in Paris were closed in 2007 after suspicious activity was detected. Flight logs show trips to Nice, Marseille, and Cannes with minors.
On February 3, 2026, LFI deputy Antoine Léaument announced the creation of a cross-party parliamentary inquiry commission to investigate "what may fall within the political sphere, foreign interference, and political party financing" related to the Epstein case. The commission will be "proposed for signature by all republican groups in our Assembly," he stated.
Authorities emphasize that being mentioned in these documents does not constitute proof of criminal activity.
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