France’s foreign minister referred a diplomat to prosecutors over suspected ties to Jeffrey Epstein and allegations he transmitted United Nations documents to the convicted sex offender during years of correspondence that included requests for access codes to the financier’s Paris apartment.
Fabrice Aidan’s name appears in more than 200 documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice, including emails he sent to Epstein between 2010 and 2016 from both his personal and official U.N. accounts while serving as special assistant to a senior Norwegian envoy, according to investigative reports by French media outlet Mediapart and Radio France. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said he notified prosecutors about the correspondence and initiated administrative investigations and disciplinary proceedings against Aidan, describing the allegations as “extremely serious.”
The U.N. documents in question include Security Council briefings, reports, and diplomatic communications that Aidan allegedly forwarded to Epstein despite their sensitive nature, materials ranging from routine procedural updates to a readout of a telephone conversation between then-U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Turkey’s foreign minister that Aidan sent to a superior who subsequently forwarded it to Epstein, though Reuters could not immediately determine the classification status of the documents.
A U.N. spokesperson said Aidan was employed by the organization from July 2006 until his resignation in April 2013, adding that “an internal disciplinary procedure was ongoing at the time of his resignation” but was suspended when he quit.
“These emails, including the transfer of U.N. documents, are staggering,” Barrot told RTL radio Wednesday, saying he learned of Aidan’s actions Tuesday through Mediapart’s investigative report. The foreign minister said prosecutors in Paris would decide whether to open a criminal investigation into potential violations of laws governing classified information, abuse of official position, or other offenses suggested by the correspondence, though he did not specify which statutes might apply or what evidence beyond the emails supports potential charges.
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Mediapart reported that the FBI informed the United Nations in 2013 about an investigation into Aidan for allegedly accessing child sexual abuse material online while working at U.N. headquarters in New York, allegations that triggered the internal disciplinary process he avoided by resigning before it concluded. A French government source confirmed to Radio France that Aidan was the diplomat targeted by the FBI investigation, though it remains unclear whether American authorities pursued charges or what evidence they gathered beyond initial suspicions that prompted the inquiry.
Gerard Araud, France’s ambassador to the United States during the period in question, wrote on social media platform X that he had sent Aidan back to France and referred to “the existence of an FBI file on Aidan” without providing details about its contents or the circumstances that led to the diplomat’s departure from his U.N. posting. Araud’s statement suggested French diplomatic leadership was aware of problems involving Aidan years before the recent Epstein document releases made the relationship public, raising questions about why the foreign ministry apparently took no action against him and allowed him to continue his career.
Aidan joined France’s foreign ministry around 2000 and served at the French embassy in Israel from 1998 to 2000 before his U.N. assignment, according to professional background information reviewed by French media.
The ministry describes him as a “principal secretary of foreign affairs currently on personal leave and working outside the ministry,” a status that placed him on inactive duty from diplomatic service while employed by private companies, most recently as director of international affairs at Engie, the French energy conglomerate, which announced Wednesday it had “relieved Fabrice Aidan from his duties” following the revelations.
“In light of the information brought to our attention and reported in certain media, which would concern a period prior to his joining the group, Engie has decided to relieve Fabrice Aidan from his duties,” the company said in a statement, distancing itself from the scandal while noting the alleged conduct predated his employment there.
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The correspondence shows Aidan maintained contact with Epstein for years despite the financier’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor, a plea deal that drew widespread criticism for its leniency and that federal prosecutors later acknowledged provided inadequate punishment for crimes involving multiple underage victims. In one email exchange revealed in the Justice Department releases, Aidan asked Epstein whether he could have entrance codes to the financier’s luxury apartment on Avenue Foch in Paris, a request Epstein responded to favorably according to the documents.
Aidan worked during his U.N. tenure as special assistant to Terje Rød-Larsen, the Norwegian diplomat who helped negotiate the 1993 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization and later served in senior Middle East envoy positions. Norwegian police announced Monday they had opened an investigation into Rød-Larsen and his wife for “complicity in aggravated corruption” related to their ties with Epstein—allegations suggesting the financier used money and connections to influence diplomatic processes or gain access to sensitive information, though specifics of what Norway suspects occurred have not been publicly disclosed.
The web of relationships linking Aidan, Rød-Larsen, and Epstein raises questions about whether the financier cultivated these diplomatic contacts to advance business interests, gather intelligence, or simply satisfy his compulsion to associate with powerful individuals in politics, science, academia and international affairs.
Epstein’s methodology involved positioning himself as a philanthropist and connector who could facilitate introductions and opportunities while gathering information he might later exploit for influence or profit—a pattern documented across his relationships with politicians, academics, and business leaders who later expressed regret about their associations.
President Emmanuel Macron is “appalled by the recent findings,” a source close to the French leader said Wednesday, though the Elysée Palace has not issued a formal statement or indicated whether Macron will personally intervene in investigations or take additional measures beyond those announced by Barrot. Government spokesperson Maud Bregeon told reporters that “judicial bodies must take up this case if they so wish. All light must be shed on this appalling and far-reaching affair.”
The release of Epstein-related documents by the Justice Department this year has revealed numerous connections between the financier and European politicians, royals, and cultural figure, relationships that have generated political fallout as officials scramble to explain their interactions or distance themselves from conduct they now characterize as naive or inappropriate.