Jack Lang

Lang entered politics as a Socialist member of the National Assembly from Paris in 1977. He is best known for having served as Minister of Culture (22 May 1981 – 19 March 1986 and 13 May 1988 – 29 March 1993) and as Minister of Education (3 April 1992 – 29 March 1993 and 27 March 2000 – 5 May 2002). In 1981, while Minister of Culture, he created the Fête de la Musique, a massive celebration of music held on 21 June each year, where many amateur musicians give free open-air performances. He is the co-founder and president of the Union of the Theatres of Europe. In August 1981, he created the Lang Law, which allows publishers to enforce a minimum sale price for books.

In the 1980s. Lang contributed to the creation of the Europe Theatre Prize, born in 1986, of which he is the President until 2018. Lang was a Member of the European Parliament from 1994 to 1997. In 2000, he stood unsuccessfully for Mayor of Paris. While he had planned to stand for president in 2007, he ultimately decided not to register as a candidate in the Socialist primary for the sake of party unity.

In 2007, Lang agreed to become co-chairman of a commission drafting changes to the Constitution that were supported by President Nicolas Sarkozy but opposed by the Socialist Party. This decision provoked strong criticism from his party, leading him to end his role in the party leadership. When Parliament voted on the constitutional changes on 21 July 2008, he voted in favour, becoming the only Socialist deputy so to do. A three-fifths majority was required, and the changes passed by a vote of 539 to 357, meaning that Lang's support enabled the bill to pass by a one-vote margin. The Socialist Party denounced Lang for this vote; party spokesman Julien Dray said that he had "gone too far" and "no longer has his place in our political family", while Jean-Marc Ayrault, the President of the Socialist Parliamentary Group, said that Lang's vote was an act of "crossing the Rubicon". Lang replied by saying that it "is in nobody's power to strike me from the map of the French political landscape".

In late 2009, Sarkozy appointed Lang his special envoy to North Korea, following a similar assignment earlier in the year to Cuba. Lang travelled to Pyongyang on 9 November 2009 for a self-described "listening mission" aimed at exploring bilateral ties and discussing the North Korean nuclear program, among other things. Lang briefed American officials including Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg and special envoy Sung Kim, as well as ambassadors of countries involved such as Russia, before the assignment was publicly announced. Some critics questioned Lang's qualifications, but Lang said he would be driven by his "intuition" that change was afoot in North Korea.

In August 2010, Lang became special adviser on piracy at the United Nations. He was brought in to advise on the prosecution of pirates off the coast of Somalia. In 2012, Lang was chosen as the Socialist Party candidate for the National Assembly in the second district in the Vosges department. A controversial figure in the Socialist Party since his collaboration with Sarkozy, Lang's constituency was abolished during the national reapportionment and he failed to be nominated in several other constituencies before finally succeeding in the Vosges. The electorate in this department is considered by observers to be more conservative than in Lang's previous seat. Lang was criticized for being an "outsider", to which he countered that he had been born in the region. Lang was narrowly defeated on the second round of voting in the election on 17 June 2012, winning 49.1% of the vote.

In 2026, it was reported that Lang had a personal relationship with American financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein for several years (between 2012 and 2019), and borrowed Epstein's vehicles for his family's use. Lang denied knowing about Epstein's illicit activities. In February 2026, as a financial investigation was opened following the release of the Epstein files, he tendered his resignation as head of the Paris-based Institute of the Arab World, a position he had held since 2013. In an exchange dated 28 January 2013, in response to a document sent by Lang entitled "Petit Prince", Epstein asks: "Should the child should be introduced to religion. new sexuialitys., tested? how often, standardized tests. sample projects. etc.." [sic] In an email dated 30 January 2013, Caroline Lang replied: "My father agrees with your suggestion on adding religion, new sexuality, etc.... So I think it would be easier for him to talk to you in person when you come over next [sic] to Paris." Jeffrey Epstein set up an investment fund for Jack Lang and his daughter, funded with $1.9 million and managed by French financier Étienne Binant. Binant was the primary recipient of the money.