Paris prosecutors announced Saturday that they have assigned magistrates to thoroughly examine the recently unsealed Jeffrey Epstein documents. Their goal is to uncover any potential criminal offenses, especially those of a sexual or financial nature, involving French citizens.
The release of nearly three million pages of documents by the U.S. Justice Department last month has ignited a wave of alarm across Europe and globally. These documents expose numerous powerful and affluent individuals linked to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender.
According to their statement, the prosecutor’s office confirmed that investigators are meticulously reviewing these new documents to ascertain if there’s sufficient evidence to initiate formal investigations under French law.
Beyond the broader inquiry, the prosecutor’s office also disclosed that it has received three new specific complaints tied to the Epstein scandal.
The Santé prison in Paris, notable as the detention site of Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent and associate of Epstein, who passed away in February 2022.
One of these new complaints, submitted by the Foreign Affairs Ministry, has led to an investigation into Fabrice Aidan, a French diplomat whose name surfaces over 200 times in the Epstein documents. Prosecutors emphasized that a mere mention in the files does not imply guilt and that the complaint itself provided no additional specifics regarding his alleged misconduct.
Fabrice Aidan’s lawyer, Jade Dousselin, released a statement asserting her client’s complete denial of all accusations. She added that Mr. Aidan is prepared to fully cooperate with the courts and answer any questions they may have.
A separate complaint came from a Swedish woman, accusing Daniel Siad, another individual mentioned in the Epstein files, of rape in France in 1990.
Efforts to reach Mr. Siad for comment were unsuccessful. However, in a recent television interview, he defended his past association with Epstein, claiming that Epstein exploited his trust, portraying himself as a charming diplomat whom Siad couldn’t have known was dangerous.
Finally, a third complaint targets Frédéric Chaslin, a French conductor. While the complainant’s identity wasn’t revealed, prosecutors confirmed the allegations involve sexual harassment in 2016 and are under review.
In a detailed public statement, Mr. Chaslin explained that a mutual friend introduced him to Epstein, and their interactions were brief and seemingly harmless, primarily focused on securing support for musical ventures. He stated that he did not investigate Epstein’s background, given his presence within New York’s intellectual circles.
A still image from a video released by the U.S. Justice Department depicts Jack Lang, France’s former culture minister, alongside Mr. Epstein at the Louvre Museum in Paris.
Unlike countries such as the United Kingdom and Norway, where the Epstein scandal has implicated high-ranking officials and royal family members, France has yet to see significant political fallout from the revelations.
Despite the lack of widespread political repercussions, the scandal did impact Jack Lang, a prominent French politician and former culture minister. He recently resigned from his position as head of the Arab World Institute in Paris following reports that authorities were probing his and his family’s financial ties to Epstein.
Lang expressed relief that ‘true justice,’ rather than media or digital justice, is now handling the matter. In a statement to a French news outlet, he affirmed his faith in the law, declaring himself ‘as white as snow’ regarding Jeffrey Epstein, though he wryly noted the phrase might seem ‘outdated.’
The Paris prosecutor’s office further stated its intention to revisit the investigation into Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent and Epstein associate who died in February 2022. The specifics of this re-examination were not detailed.
An earlier investigation into communications between Epstein and Brunel revealed that Epstein frequently requested photographs of young girls from Brunel during his travels to Eastern European nations.
Ten women testified against Mr. Brunel, with several reporting that they were underage at the time, given alcohol, and sexually assaulted. One witness identified Brunel as the facilitator who brought young girls from Eastern Europe and Latin America to Epstein.
A summary of the initial investigation, released by the Paris prosecutor’s office, indicated that some women told investigators they were coerced into sexual acts with both men due to their youth, the influence these men held, and the secluded, luxurious settings where the alleged abuse occurred.
This initial investigation concluded in 2023 following Brunel’s death in his Paris jail cell, where he had been held in pretrial detention since December 2020 on charges of rape, rape of a minor, and sexual harassment.