Epstein fallout: Anne-Claire Legendre replaces Jack Lang as head of Arab World Institute

Euronews · Feb 18, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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By Nina Borowski with AFP, AP Published on 18/02/2026 - 19:17 GMT+1 Anne-Claire Legendre, Emmanuel Macron’s adviser on North Africa and the Middle East, is succeeding Jack Lang at the head of the prestigious Arab World Institute. The former culture minister announced his resignation ten days ago, after his name surfaced in the Epstein affair. Anne-Claire Legendre’s nomination was put to the IMA’s board of directors by foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot and approved unanimously by its members. Working alongside Emmanuel Macron, Anne-Claire Legendre has notably been involved in France’s move to recognise the State of Palestine. A career diplomat, she also spent more than two years as spokesperson for the foreign ministry and has served in several French embassies, including in Kuwait and Yemen. Jack Lang targeted by tax fraud investigation Reacting to the announcement of Anne-Claire Legendre’s appointment, Jack Lang hailed the annoucement as "excellent news" on the social network X, praising _"_a figure of great intellectual calibre, who has always backed the work of the Arab World Institute". The former culture minister must provide prosecuting authorities with answers over his ties, including financial ones, with Jeffrey Epstein. His daughter, Caroline Lang, set up an offshore company in 2016, registered in the US Virgin Islands, together with the American businessman with a criminal record. Jack and Caroline Lang are both the subject of an investigation into aggravated laundering of the proceeds of tax fraud.