The Arab World Institute chooses to reappoint Jack Lang as head

Since March 2023, the end of his third term, Jack Lang has been awaiting the presidential decision with a mixture of phlegm and concern. “Being renewed for three years is not much and would allow me to complete what I have to do” he said to Figaro, at the beginning of the year. Adding, as if to better warn potential claimants to his succession: “even outside, I will still be there, one way or another”.

On December 20, the board of directors of the Arab World Institute, composed of seven Arab ambassadors (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Qatar) and seven personalities chosen by the Quai d’ Orsay, voted unanimously for its renewal. By this vote, the members welcome “governance based on rigorous management, quality programming and ambitious projects, in France and internationally”.

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In principle, it is up to Emmanuel Macron, the final decision-maker in this appointment, to say whether or not he follows the vote of the ambassadors. However, the President of the Republic has remained silent until now. The press release from the board of directors may affirm that this vote confirms the “confidence of the President of the Republic in Jack Lang”, It’s not yet the case. Is Emmanuel Macron busy with a possible reshuffle? Or is he still looking for an alternative to Jack Lang? Nobody is able to say it today. Aged 84, he is the oldest president of cultural institutions. While the Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul Malak, has just announced a major plan to renew the profile of leaders in the sector, this extraordinary longevity is surprising. Even if the position depends on Foreign Affairs).

“The Quai d’Orsay pushed hard by provoking a vote in council,” analyzes someone close to the case “but Lang is, in fact, not guaranteed to remain in office”. In any case, we should move forward, so that the IMA does not suffer the same fate as the Versailles estate, whose president has been acting since March 2021.