Nearly 6,800 kilometres separate Paris from Little St James, the private Caribbean island that became synonymous with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
But investigators believe a luxury apartment in the French capital may have formed part of the same network that operated around him for years.
Located on Avenue Foch — one of Europe’s most exclusive residential streets and just minutes from the Champs-Élysées — the 18-room residence overlooked the Arc de Triomphe. Behind its stately façade, however, newly published photographs by French newspaper Le Parisien show interiors that authorities suspect may have been used for sexual exploitation and trafficking.
Images From A 2019 Probe
The photographs were taken during a 2019 French investigation into alleged rapes at the apartment by modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, a long-time associate of Epstein. Brunel denied wrongdoing. He died in a Paris prison in 2022 while awaiting trial on charges including the rape of a minor and trafficking of underage girls. Authorities ruled his death a suicide.
The images reveal rooms drenched in red and pink hues, walls lined with framed photographs of young women — some nude or semi-nude — and a massage table positioned beneath dim lighting. Drawers reportedly contained sex toys. One framed photograph shows Epstein posing with topless women.
French prosecutors suspect the red-walled massage room may have been used for sexual assaults.
A Lavish But Disturbing Setting
Beyond the massage room, the apartment combined opulence with eccentric decor. A stuffed elephant calf and a mounted vulture featured among the furnishings. A faux tiger-skin armchair was adorned with animal horns. A round reception room, known as the “rotunda,” opened toward sweeping views of the Arc de Triomphe and featured a bearskin rug.
Other spaces included a red leather-lined study, sauna, gym and themed bedrooms — among them a “Chinese room” decorated with dragon motifs and portraits of emperors, and a so-called “pink room.” One bedroom with twin beds was more subdued.
Epstein purchased the property in 2001 and is believed to have visited Paris more than 170 times. Investigators suspect the apartment served as his European base, allegedly supported by a Paris-based network that procured young women during his stays.
After Epstein died in a New York jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial on US sex-trafficking charges, the apartment was sold in 2022 for more than $10 million by a company tied to his estate.
Brunel’s Modelling Links
Brunel, founder of MC2 Model Management, had longstanding ties to Epstein. Flight logs show he travelled on Epstein’s private jet in 2002. Prison records indicate he also visited Epstein during a prior US jail sentence.
French investigators consider Brunel central to understanding how young women may have been recruited and transported internationally. At least three women have testified that they were abused by Epstein or his associates in France. Child-protection group Innocence en Danger has reported receiving around ten accounts of alleged crimes linked to Epstein on French soil.
Renewed Scrutiny
The Paris revelations follow the release of millions of documents in the United States connected to Epstein’s case. French prosecutors have since opened new investigations into alleged human trafficking and possible financial crimes.
While Paris lies far from Little St James — a 72-acre island Epstein bought in 1998 and later developed into a private compound — investigators see possible operational links between the two locations.
What remains under examination is whether the Avenue Foch apartment functioned merely as a luxury residence — or as a key European node in a broader network that spanned continents.
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