France’s First Lady, Brigitte Macron, is taking her fight against a long-running conspiracy theory to the nation’s top appeals court, after two women accused of spreading false claims about her gender were acquitted.
The case, which has drawn attention across Europe and the United States, revolves around viral rumours that Macron, 72, was born male an allegation her legal team calls defamatory and deliberately harmful.
False Claims Go Viral
The claim first surfaced in 2021 in a four-hour YouTube interview hosted by Amandine Roy, a self-proclaimed spiritual medium, who interviewed Natacha Rey, described as an independent journalist.
In the video, Rey alleged that Macron was once a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux a real person, but in fact Brigitte Macron’s brother. She claimed that this supposed gender change had been covered up as part of a “state lie,” and said Macron later married Emmanuel Macron under a false identity.
The video quickly spread online, particularly among far-right and conspiracy circles, fuelling transphobic speculation and attacks on the French First Lady. The wild rumour gained further traction because of the 24-year age gap between Brigitte and her husband, French President Emmanuel Macron.
Initial Conviction Overturned
In September 2023, a lower court found both women guilty of defamation and ordered them to pay €8,000 to Brigitte Macron, and €5,000 to her brother Jean-Michel Trogneux.
But in a surprise move last Thursday, the Paris Court of Appeal overturned the convictions, a ruling that Brigitte’s legal team is now challenging.
“We are appealing to the Court of Cassation,” her lawyer, Jean Ennochi, told AFP on Sunday.
“The statements made were false, serious, and deliberately harmful.”
Her brother is also appealing the acquittal, arguing that the claims damaged not only his sister’s name but his own identity.
A Broader Debate on Online Lies
This case is part of a growing global conversation about how quickly false information spreads online and the harm it can cause especially when it targets public figures.
Though the allegations against Brigitte Macron have been thoroughly discredited, the case continues to echo across social media, where conspiracy theories no matter how outrageous often thrive.
Observers in France see this not just as a personal legal battle, but as a test of how courts deal with digital disinformation in an age where viral lies can ruin reputations and cross borders in minutes.
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