--- category: Landmark created: 2026-06-20 location: Paris, France summary: Jeffrey Epstein's apartment on the Avenue Foch in Paris, searched by French police in 2019 and central to the French criminal investigation into rape of minors and trafficking opened after his death. tags: - Place - JeffreyEpstein - Paris - France - Property - SexTrafficking - JeanLucBrunel - OCRVP updated: 2026-06-20 --- Avenue Foch is a wide residential avenue in the 16th arrondissement of Paris running from the Arc de Triomphe to the Bois de Boulogne, and [Jeffrey Epstein](/people/jeffrey-epstein/) owned a large apartment there that served as his Paris base. After his July 2019 arrest and August 2019 death, the apartment was searched by French police and became central to a French criminal investigation into the rape of minors and human trafficking.[^1] ### The Apartment Epstein acquired his Avenue Foch residence in the early 2000s through a French real-estate entity, paying roughly 1.5 million euros around 2002 for property within one of the avenue's grand buildings and adding a further unit in 2004.[^2] Reporting described the residence as an eighteen-room apartment in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Paris, steps from the Arc de Triomphe.[^3] The apartment was photographed by French authorities during their search, and images later released showed a room decorated in red fitted with a massage table, along with photographs of nude and partially nude young women displayed on the walls and a number of taxidermy and stuffed animals.[^3] One photograph entered into the French record showed Epstein beside two topless women inside the apartment.[^4] Epstein used the Paris apartment during frequent travel between his residences, and his presence in France was tied to his relationships in the Paris modeling industry.[^4] The French entity that held the property remained part of his estate after his death, and the apartment was later sold for a reported figure in excess of ten million dollars.[^3] ### France Connections and the Modeling Recruitment Epstein's connection to France ran through [Jean-Luc Brunel](/people/jean-luc-brunel/), a French model agent who founded the agency MC2 Model Management with about one million dollars in financing from Epstein.[^5] Prosecutors and accusers alleged that Brunel used his modeling agencies to identify young women and girls and direct them to Epstein, steering some to his residences in Florida, New York and France.[^5] Brunel denied wrongdoing.[^5] Accusers including [Virginia Giuffre](/people/virginia-giuffre/) alleged that they were directed to have sexual contact with Brunel and others during trips that included France, accounts that were filed in civil litigation and remain allegations as to conduct in Paris.[^4] Investigators examining the French dimension drew on testimony gathered in separate French inquiries into model agents, including Brunel and Gerald Marie, whose accusers described drugging and assault.[^1] The Paris modeling world supplied the link between Epstein's apartment and the recruitment alleged by French and American victims, and the agencies tied to Brunel became a focus of the investigation that French authorities opened after Epstein's death.[^5] ### The French Criminal Investigation The Paris prosecutor's office opened a preliminary investigation on August 23, 2019, after Epstein's death, into allegations including the rape of minors, sexual assault and criminal association connected to trafficking.[^6] The inquiry was assigned to the Office central pour la répression des violences aux personnes, the OCRVP, a national unit of the French judicial police created in 2006 to handle serious offenses against persons.[^7] French investigators searched the Avenue Foch apartment in late September 2019, entering on a Monday afternoon and working into the early hours of the following day to collect evidence.[^8] French officials, including the secretaries of state Marlène Schiappa and Adrien Taquet, had publicly called for an investigation, saying the U.S. case had highlighted links with France and that an inquiry was fundamental for the victims.[^9] The OCRVP issued public appeals for victims and witnesses to come forward, citing the international complexity of the case, and reported interviewing several people in the early phase.[^7] The investigation continued for years and intersected with the case against Brunel, who was detained in mid-December 2020 as he prepared to leave France and was placed under investigation for the rape of minors, sexual assault and trafficking; he was found hanged in his cell at La Santé prison in Paris on February 19, 2022, a death ruled a suicide.[^5] The Paris prosecutor later renewed appeals for victims to come forward and drew on files released by the U.S. Department of Justice to examine possible offenses committed in France or involving French victims.[^7] [^1]: "French police launch search at Jeffrey Epstein's Paris flat," *France 24,* 2019, and "Properties of Jeffrey Epstein" used for orientation, on the Avenue Foch apartment as Epstein's Paris base, the post-death search, and the link to French inquiries into model agents including Jean-Luc Brunel and Gerald Marie. https://www.france24.com/en/20190924-french-police-launch-search-jeffrey-epstein-paris-flat [^2]: "French officials call for investigation of Jeffrey Epstein's 'links with France,'" *ABC News,* 2019, on Epstein's purchase of property in the Avenue Foch building through a French real-estate entity for about 1.5 million euros around 2002 with a further unit added in 2004. https://abcnews.go.com/International/french-officials-call-investigation-jeffrey-epsteins-links-france/story?id=64925236 [^3]: "Inside Epstein's Paris lair: French prosecutors release photos of his flat including red room complete with masseuse table," *LBC,* 2026, on the eighteen-room apartment in the 16th arrondissement, the released search photographs of the red massage room and displayed images, and the later reported sale for more than ten million dollars. https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/french-investigators-photos-inside-epsteins-paris-apartment-5HjdTS7_2/ [^4]: "Jeffrey Epstein pictured with topless girls in Paris apartment with sinister history," *AOL,* on the released photograph of Epstein with two topless women inside the apartment and the accounts tying his Paris presence to the modeling industry; abuse described in France is allegation and testimony. https://www.aol.com/entertainment/jeffrey-epstein-pictured-topless-girls-174308994.html [^5]: "Jean-Luc Brunel, French modeling agent and associate of Jeffrey Epstein, found dead in prison cell," *CNN,* 2022, and "Jean-Luc Brunel found hanged in prison," *Washington Post,* 2022, on Epstein's roughly one-million-dollar financing of MC2 Model Management, the allegations that Brunel recruited and supplied girls, his mid-December 2020 detention, and his February 19, 2022 death at La Santé prison. https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/19/europe/jean-luc-brunel-jeffrey-epstein-death-intl [^6]: "Prosecutors in France investigate Jeffrey Epstein," *Axios,* 2019, on the Paris prosecutor's August 23, 2019 opening of a preliminary investigation into the alleged rape of minors and related charges following Epstein's death. https://www.axios.com/prosecutors-france-investigate-jeffrey-epstein-da76599d-5d44-4a68-9733-98bf79a97480.html [^7]: "Paris prosecutor makes public appeal for Epstein victims in France to come forward," *France 24,* 2026, on the OCRVP (Office central pour la répression des violences aux personnes), its creation in 2006 within the judicial police, its handling of the Epstein and Brunel case, and the public appeals for victims and witnesses. https://www.france24.com/en/france/20260218-paris-prosecutor-makes-public-appeal-for-epstein-victims-in-france-to-come-forward [^8]: "Jeffrey Epstein's Paris Apartment Searched by French Police," *Law & Crime,* 2019, on the September 2019 search of the Avenue Foch apartment beginning Monday afternoon and continuing into the following day. https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/jeffrey-epsteins-paris-apartment-searched-by-french-police/ [^9]: "French officials call for investigation," *ABC News,* 2019, on the August 12, 2019 joint statement by secretaries of state Marlène Schiappa and Adrien Taquet requesting an investigation into Epstein's links with France. https://abcnews.go.com/International/french-officials-call-investigation-jeffrey-epsteins-links-france/story?id=64925236