Inside France’s Epstein Probes: Lang, Colom, Saynt and the Rothschild Connection
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau has launched two “framework investigations” following the release of around 3 million pages of “Epstein files” by the U.S. Department of Justice.
France’s decision to open two Epstein‑linked probes marks the first serious attempt by a major European state to map the French dimensions of his network, from alleged trafficking to elite financial ties.
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France’s two Epstein probes
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau* has launched two “framework investigations” following the release of around 3 million pages of “Epstein files” by the U.S. Department of Justice.
One probe targets alleged sexual crimes and possible organised human trafficking, with three specialist magistrates assigned to sexual‑offence work.
The second focuses on financial wrongdoing: suspected money laundering, corruption and tax fraud, overseen by two financial‑crime magistrates.
These are broad, preliminary inquiries designed to sift mountains of material (documents, emails, flight logs, videos and photos) and see which acts are prosecutable under French law, either because French nationals are involved or because alleged crimes occurred on French territory or flights linked to France.
Prosecutors have publicly called on potential French victims to come forward and are also examining fresh complaints channelled by child‑protection groups and regional prosecutors.
Who the French probes are focusing on
At this stage, the probes revolve less around “big Western clients” and more around French intermediaries and gatekeepers.
Key names already pulled into formal French proceedings include:
Jack Lang, former culture minister: under investigation by the National Financial Prosecutor for suspected aggravated tax‑fraud laundering tied to structures and flows linked to Epstein; police have raided the Arab World Institute in Paris, which he headed until recently.
Caroline Lang, his daughter and film producer: part of the same financial‑crime case, with attention on offshore structures and assets; her professional roles in the film sector have come under scrutiny as a result.
Fabrice Aidan, French diplomat and former UN official: flagged to prosecutors by the foreign ministry after over 200 emails showed him sending UN documents and information to Epstein; now the subject of a dedicated investigation for possible breaches of confidentiality and related offences.
Daniel “Said”/Saynt, Paris‑based model scout: already implicated in past French investigations around Jean‑Luc Brunel, he is again on the radar as a potential Epstein associate in Paris; complaints including an alleged rape of model Ebba Karlsson in the 1990s are being reviewed under the trafficking framework.
Daniel Saynt is a bisexual, polyamorous founder of the queer‑inclusive sex‑positive club NSFW, where he both organises and participates in kink‑ and group‑sex‑oriented play parties and related adult‑industry ventures.
The earlier French case centred on model scout Jean‑Luc Brunel, who faced rape and trafficking allegations before his 2022 death; that file was closed, but the new probes explicitly contemplate revisiting evidence from the Brunel era in light of the expanded U.S. dump.
Why Emmanuel Macron is not a target
Despite intense online speculation, neither Emmanuel Macron nor Brigitte Macron is a target of these probes.
Public communications from the Paris prosecutor’s office and the financial‑crime authorities consistently name Lang, Aidan and others, but do not list Macron or his wife as subjects of investigation.
Macron’s name does appear in some documents and coverage - usually in emails where Epstein or interlocutors refer to the French president, speculate about access, or discuss French politics - but credible reporting stresses that these are references to Macron, not evidence of his involvement in crimes.
France’s own disinformation watchdog and government sources have publicly denounced a Russia‑linked smear operation that circulated fabricated “Epstein emails” purporting to implicate Macron; they state those specific messages are not part of the DOJ files.
For now, Macron is in the documents as a political reference point, not as a suspect, and French authorities are treating attempts to cast him as a client as part of an information‑war campaign rather than a lead in the criminal case.
Olivier Colom, Edmond de Rothschild and the Epstein network
If Lang and Aidan illustrate how Epstein intersected with French politics and diplomacy, Olivier Colom and Edmond de Rothschild show how he plugged into French‑Swiss banking and elite deal‑making.
Colom as Epstein’s French networker
Colom, a former deputy diplomatic adviser to President Nicolas Sarkozy who moved into banking (notably at Edmond de Rothschild), exchanged hundreds—some French outlets say over 2,000 emails with Epstein between 2013 and 2018, with contacts stretching to 2019.
In these emails, Epstein treats Colom as a primary French contact, asking him to speak on the phone and help arrange meetings, introductions and “fun” during Paris trips; Colom responds by offering to line up “assistants, interesting people, fun” when Epstein is in town.
Colom uses his diplomatic Rolodex: for example, he leans on the French consul general in New York, a former Elysée colleague, to secure a “special procedure” visa for Epstein’s companion Karyna Shuliak in 2014.
Sarkozy‑world and broader right‑wing politics
Epstein actively sought entry into Sarkozy’s orbit, with Norwegian diplomat Terje Rød‑Larsen reportedly pointing him to Colom as a “close adviser of Sarko.”
Emails show Colom floating the idea of a Sarkozy–Epstein meeting and at times implying it might happen, though Sarkozy’s entourage now insists that no meeting ever took place.
Colom also appears as a bridge to other right‑leaning figures: he writes that his friend Bruno Le Maire (then a former minister positioning himself for higher office) will be in New York and asks Epstein for help with fundraising and introductions; other messages mention proximity to future finance minister Emmanuel Moulin.
Colom’s link to Edmond de Rothschild
At Edmond de Rothschild, Colom worked closely with CEO Ariane de Rothschild; newly surfaced documents show Epstein was, in effect, an informal adviser to her and the bank from 2013 until shortly before his 2019 arrest.
Emails reveal Epstein mediating in internal Rothschild family battles—for example, a dispute between Ariane in Geneva and David de Rothschild in Paris over branding and control of the “Rothschild Group” name.
French reporting indicates Epstein played a role in negotiating Colom’s own exit from Edmond de Rothschild, including a sizeable severance and non‑disclosure agreement, underscoring how embedded he was in the bank’s internal power games.
Ariane de Rothschild’s relationship with Epstein
According to French media analyses of the DOJ files, Ariane de Rothschild exchanged more than 5,000 emails with Epstein, often highly personal, discussing family issues, her rise to CEO of Edmond de Rothschild and shared holiday plans.
The same record shows Epstein acting as an unofficial business adviser and network broker for the bank and for Ariane personally, even after his 2008 sex‑offence conviction.
Edmond de Rothschild has acknowledged the relationship but stresses that Ariane broke off contact in 2019 when she became fully aware of the scope of Epstein’s crimes, and that no evidence has emerged (so far) that she participated in his sexual offences; as of now, she is not under a French criminal investigation.
Rothschild reach and media stakes
The Rothschild empire is sprawling, but the branch most exposed in the Epstein files is the Edmond de Rothschild private‑banking group, not the UK‑based Rothschild & Co. or the broader family holdings.
Edmond de Rothschild is a Franco‑Swiss private bank and asset‑management group catering to ultra‑high‑net‑worth clients, heavily involved in wealth structuring and offshore vehicles - exactly the terrain where a fixer like Epstein operated.
Separately, another branch of the family has held a major stake in The Economist magazine: Lynn Forester de Rothschild’s family owned about 26.7% of The Economist Group (roughly 20% of voting shares), making them a significant, though minority, shareholder in one of the world’s most influential English‑language news outlets.
That stake has been in the process of being sold, with family advisers emphasising that The Economist’s governance structure caps any one owner’s voting power and is designed to guarantee editorial independence through independent trustees.
So while the Rothschild name spans banking, philanthropy and high‑profile media stakes, the French Epstein probes are, at this point, trained on the banking and political side of that ecosystem - Lang, Aidan, Colom and the Edmond de Rothschild connection - rather than on media “control” as such.
Why these probes matter
The French twin investigations are still in their early, document‑sifting phase, but they already tell us several important things.
First, the Epstein story is no longer confined to U.S. and UK jurisdictions; France is openly exploring whether its own political, diplomatic, cultural and financial elites facilitated or profited from the network.
Second, the focus on intermediaries - Lang at the Arab World Institute, Aidan at the UN, Colom in Sarkozy‑world and Edmond de Rothschild - highlights how Epstein operated: less as a lone predator and more as a node in a web of fixers, bankers and power‑brokers.
Third, by underlining that Macron is not currently a target—and calling out disinformation efforts - the French state is trying to draw a line between legitimate scrutiny of documented ties and weaponised conspiracy, even as the files continue to raise serious questions about who helped Epstein move through French institutions and money circuits for years after his first conviction.
This development is important - not just because “France has opened Epstein cases,” but that it is quietly dissecting how a convicted U.S. predator managed to embed himself in French ministries, multilateral diplomacy, and the Rothschild‑branded world of private banking - and what that says about accountability at the very top.
*Laure Beccuau is a senior career magistrate and the first woman to serve as Paris public prosecutor, with experience in terrorism, organised crime and serious sexual‑violence cases. In August 2024 Beccuau led the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov on serious charges, including involvement in child pornography distribution, drug trafficking, and organized crime - source.
It’s Not Just About Sex: Jeffrey Epstein, Global Finance and Why More Kiwis Can’t Afford a Sunday Roast
Jeffrey Epstein wasn’t just a degenerate with a private jet – he was a node in a global financial and intelligence system that shifts wealth and power upwards. That same architecture runs straight through Wellington, and it helps explain why ordinary New Zealanders are getting poorer while the system keeps protecting its own.
Sources: Le Monde, Washington Post, Reuters, RFI, Local10, France24, Euro News, New York Times, BBC
Penny Marie
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