France’s foreign minister requests an investigation after a diplomat’s name appears in emails linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

PARIS: France’s foreign minister has requested a probe after the name of a French diplomat on leave appeared in numerous emails to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“I was appalled,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Wednesday.

In a social media post, he said he was referring allegations against Fabrice Aidan to the public prosecutor and launching an internal inquiry.

The ministry described Aidan as a foreign affairs secretary on leave for personal reasons and holding positions in the private sector.

A mere mention in the released files does not imply wrongdoing.

French media reported he had shared email correspondence with Epstein from 2010 to 2017.

Investigative website Mediapart reported that the FBI had flagged Aidan for consulting child sexual abuse websites while working at the UN in New York.

This reportedly led to an internal probe and his resignation from the UN.

Mediapart also reported that Aidan sent UN documents and reports to Epstein.

AFP was not immediately able to contact Aidan for comment.

His LinkedIn profile appeared to have been deleted on Wednesday morning.

After the UN, Aidan went on to work for the UN cultural agency UNESCO.

Energy group Engie, for whom he had been working more recently, told AFP it had let him go.

Engie decided to relieve Fabrice Aidan from his duties in light of the media reports.

The fallout from the latest Epstein files has led to former minister Jack Lang resigning from the Arab World Institute.

He has denied any wrongdoing, saying he was shocked his name appeared in the statutes of an offshore company Epstein founded.

His daughter Caroline, who allegedly owned half the shares in that company, has resigned from two positions.

 The Sun Malaysia