The French Investigation Opens
French prosecutors opened a preliminary investigation into Jeffrey Epstein in 2019, shortly after his arrest in the United States. The investigation fell under French judicial authority because Epstein maintained an apartment in Paris on Avenue Foch — one of the city’s most exclusive addresses — and because allegations of abuse involving French victims or abuse occurring in France had emerged.
The investigation was handled by the Paris prosecutor’s office specializing in organized crime and financial crimes.
Jean-Luc Brunel: The French Connection
The central figure in the French dimension of Epstein’s network was Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling agency operator and longtime Epstein associate. Brunel founded MC2 Model Management, which Epstein financially backed, and was alleged to have recruited models — many of them underage — from Europe to Epstein’s network.
Brunel was arrested in France in December 2020 as investigations expanded. He was held in pretrial detention while French investigators examined his role in trafficking. In February 2022, Brunel was found dead in his cell at La Santé prison in Paris. French authorities ruled his death a suicide.
The Paris Apartment
Epstein’s Avenue Foch apartment — located in the 16th arrondissement — served as a base for European operations and as a location where abuse occurred, according to victim testimony. The apartment was equipped with extensive security infrastructure and was maintained by household staff.
French investigators searched the property as part of their inquiry. What they found there has not been fully disclosed in public court filings.
European Victim Recruitment
Brunel’s modeling network, operating out of Nice, Paris, and New York, provided a pipeline of young European women to Epstein’s US operations. Investigators in the US and France identified victims from France, Sweden, Eastern Europe, and other countries who were recruited through ostensibly legitimate modeling opportunities.
Maxwell also conducted recruitment operations in London and through her UK social connections, providing another European recruitment channel.
French Legal Proceedings and Outcome
Epstein’s death in August 2019 terminated his personal criminal exposure in US proceedings but did not automatically close French investigations, which can proceed against deceased suspects in some circumstances under French law.
Brunel’s death in 2022 effectively closed off the most direct French prosecution avenue. The investigation into Epstein’s broader network continued, but no additional French indictments had been publicly filed as of early 2026.
Victims in France
French victims, some of whom gave statements to investigators, described encounters similar to those documented in American proceedings — recruitment through modeling promises, transportation to Epstein’s properties, and sexual abuse.
The cross-border nature of these crimes — with victims recruited in France and abused in the US or Virgin Islands — allowed concurrent jurisdiction and complicated prosecution logistics.
Significance of the French Dimension
The French investigation demonstrated that Epstein’s operation had genuinely international scope rather than being primarily an American phenomenon. The European recruitment network relied on different social structures (modeling industry) and different regulatory environments (more permissive age-of-consent laws in some jurisdictions at certain time points).
The Brunel connection also showed how Epstein used intermediaries who operated in industries with existing access to young women — modeling, entertainment, hospitality — to outsource the recruitment function.