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Former French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire allegedly met Epstein at disgraced financier’s house

PARIS — Former French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire was introduced to Jeffrey Epstein at the convicted sex offender’s house, according to the latest document release by U.S. Department of Justice.

Le Maire was purportedly brought to one of Epstein’s homes by former President Nicolas Sarkozy’s aide Olivier Colom, according to an email exchange between Colom and Epstein. The email does not specify at which of Epstein’s houses they met.

The email exchanges also do not specify when Le Maire, who spent seven years leading the Economy and Finance Ministry, allegedly met Epstein. The email exchange between Epstein and Colom is dated Nov. 24, 2018 — before Epstein was charged in 2019 but long after the favorable plea deal he cut in 2008 with federal prosecutors in Miami. Epstein died by suicide while in federal custody in 2019.

Colom wrote in the series of emails that he regularly meets Le Maire and his then chief of staff, Emmanuel Moulin. Moulin is currently President Emmanuel Macron’s chief of staff. There is no suggestion in the email that Moulin met with Epstein.

Le Maire and Moulin did not respond immediately to requests for comment. POLITICO could not immediately find contact information for Colom.

Le Maire, a longtime fixture of French conservative politics and a former presidential candidate, now teaches at a university in Lausanne. While he was mulling a bid for the 2027 presidential election, his reputation has suffered significantly as France has struggled to cut trillions in debt since his departure. Le Maire’s appointment as armed forces minister last year was met with such outrage it helped trigger a government collapse after a mere 14 hours.

Colom also asked Epstein in a 2013 email for “any ideas” helping to raise money for Le Maire as a “future candidate [sic] to the Presidential election.”

Epstein responded: “lets meet and talk about it.”

The documents include several exchanges between Colom and Epstein, including one in which Epstein says he is on his island in the Caribbean “with an aquarium full of girls.”

Colom responded: “The King of Saudi Arabia has a few white sharks in his [sic] at his Jeddah palace. I totally prefer yours. Sure I would enjoy the view.”

Marion Solletty contributed to this report.

LP Staff Writers

Writers at Lord’s Press come from a range of professional backgrounds, including history, diplomacy, heraldry, and public administration. Many publish anonymously or under initials—a practice that reflects the publication’s long-standing emphasis on discretion and editorial objectivity. While they bring expertise in European nobility, protocol, and archival research, their role is not to opine, but to document. Their focus remains on accuracy, historical integrity, and the preservation of events and individuals whose significance might otherwise go unrecorded.

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