“When I’m somewhere, I’m there for eternity,” Jack Lang joked at the end of December, hinting that he could see himself extending his tenure at the head of the Arab World Institute (IMA) beyond the end of his fourth term, scheduled for December 2026. Embroiled in the Epstein scandal, which also affected his daughter Caroline, and despite calls for his resignation from all sides – including his own political camp – the former Socialist culture minister, pleading naivety, steadfastly refused to step down. Summoned on Sunday, February 8, by the French foreign ministry, his main supervisory authority, Lang was ultimately forced to resign under pressure. Not without wanting to defend his record. On Friday, as his fate appeared sealed, he insisted on sending us, by courier, five books to illustrate his actions during his long reign at the IMA.
Surrounded by loyal supporters from the very beginning, notably his cultural adviser Claude Mollard, the all-powerful culture minister under former French president François Mitterrand did, in fact, breathe new life into a struggling institution, using his vast network to secure patronage.
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