Arab World Institute President Jack Lang and then Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian during a meeting in Baghdad August 28, 2021. LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP
“What fight? I have not heard anything. In his office on the eighth floor of Jean Nouvel’s building, famous for its Masrabiya façade, Jack Lang pretends not to know that his spot at the head of the Arab World Institute (IMA) is in high demand. “If I’m somewhere, I’m there for eternity,” he chimes in to make it clear he’s not ready to give up. Appointed in 2013, re-elected twice, he is running for a fourth term at the age of 83, although his current contract expires in principle at the beginning of March. And above all, despite knowing that Jean-Yves Le Drian, Emmanuel Macron’s former foreign minister, and François Hollande on defense, has expressed his keen interest in the post, without being discouraged by the “Elysium”.
If he remains secretive about his intentions in public, the former head of French diplomacy, who left the government after the head of state was re-elected in May 2022, knows that the president of the IMA, who is eight years his senior, does not want to leave. But Emmanuel Macron’s entourage, which notes that “nothing is confirmed,” would seriously consider his candidacy. In fact, it is the President of the Republic who proposes the name of the head of the IMA before the Institute’s “High Council”, made up of ambassadors from Arab countries and French representatives, decides.
“An additional mandate, for what? asks a supporter of Jean-Yves Le Drian, arguing that it is time to turn the institution of the banks of the Seine into a “real tool of geopolitical influence” in a world and a sensitive region that the Breton socialist faced before his hanging traveled in all directions after ten years at the head of sovereign ministries. An experience brought forward by those around him, since the management of the Institute, from Edgar Pisani to Dominique Baudis, has never been the domain of cultural experts. “The IMA is not the museum of the Arab world and must evolve, expand its scope in the global struggle for influence opened by Russia and China,” rants a relative, annoyed that Jack Lang is multiplying to make it clear that he wants to stay in his post.
“I have energy left”
“I’m in great shape, I have energy left, I’m here day and night! “, assures the indestructible former socialist culture minister, whose shadow still hovers over French cultural life. He wrote it to Emmanuel Macron two weeks ago, who has not yet responded. He also repeats it in a thick account, cleverly unencrypted, preceded by a lyrical preface whose secret its author knows. His title? The IMA, passion of your life. And to unfold over 348 pages his cultural report that he will defend on February 2 during a conveniently organized press conference: creation of the IMA comedy club, proliferation of forums on feminist and LGBTQ + issues, success of exhibitions … A final chapter entitled “Government Support”, shows his closeness to Emmanuel Macron in four photos of hugs.
You still have 48.14% of this article to read. The following is for subscribers only.