Veteran French politician Jack Lang, a former minister, was forced out of a key cultural post on Saturday as pressure grew on him over revelations in the latest release of the Epstein files.

Lang, who has headed the Arab World Institute (IMA) since 2013, is the most high-profile public figure in France caught up in the latest release of private messages from the convicted sex offender.

But Lang continued to insist he was innocent of any wrongdoing.

On Friday, French prosecutors said they had opened a preliminary investigation of him and his daughter Caroline over "laundering of aggravated tax-fraud proceeds" after they were mentioned in files related to Epstein.

Earlier Saturday, before news of his resignation emerged, Lang told AFP that the accusations against him were "baseless" and he welcomed the probe.

"It will bring much light on to the accusations that are questioning my probity and my honour," said Lang, whose name appears more than 670 times in the released documents.

He has denied any wrong-doing, saying he was "shocked" that his name appeared in the statutes of the offshore company in 2016 and that he had only appealed to Epstein as a philanthropist.

Lang is best known as an innovative and popular culture minister during the presidency of socialist Francois Mitterrand in the 1980s and 90s. (AFP)