Brigitte Macron appeals acquittal of two women in trans rumour case
Brigitte Macron. (Getty)
Brigitte Macron. (Getty)
France’s first lady Brigitte Macron has appealed the acquittal of two women who claimed she is transgender.
The Paris appeals court overturned earlier convictions against the two women for spreading the rumour, which went viral online, that Brigette Macron is a trans woman.
The old, false rumour that Brigitte Macron is trans regularly rears its head. In March 2024, French president Emmanuel Macron had to address the baseless rumours, denouncing them as “fabricated scenarios”.
Brigette filed a libel complaint against the two women – anti-vaxxer medium Amandine Roy and journalist Natacha Rey – after they posted a YouTube video in December 2021. In the video, the women claim that Brigette is a trans woman who was previously named Jean-Michel Trogneux.
Brigitte Macron’s supposed deadname, “Jean-Michael Trogneux”, trended for several days afterwards on French Twitter. Trogneux is Brigitte’s maiden name. The name linked in the conspiracy theory belongs to her brother, Le Monde reported.
Roy and Rey saw their rumour go viral online, and in September last year, a lower court ordered that they pay €8,000 (£6,934) in damages to Brigitte Macron, and €5,000 (£4,334) to her brother.
Brigette’s lawyer Jean Ennochi informed AFP that her brother will also appeal the court’s decision.
Claims that Brigitte Macron is trans have been spread by voices opposed to her husband, including those on the political far-right. They resurfaced again in June 2024, and will no doubt continue to circulate, in much the same way as similar rumours about former US first lady Michele Obama regularly do the rounds online.
Emmanuel Macron, who earlier this year appointed Gabriel Attal as France’s first out gay prime minister, has previously been the subject of similarly baseless rumours about his sexuality.
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