Financial crime prosecutors in France say they have opened a preliminary inquiry into former Culture Minister Jack Lang over his links to Jeffrey Epstein.
Lang, a major figure in French socialist governments between the 1980s and 2000s, is being investigated for suspected "laundering of tax fraud proceeds".
It follows the US Department of Justice's release of the Epstein files, which have documented links between the Lang family and the late American sex offender.
Lang, now 86 and head of the Arab World Institute in Paris, denies wrongdoing and on Saturday described the allegations against him as "baseless".
He told AFP the investigation "will bring much light on to the accusations that are questioning my probity and my honour".
