French first lady Brigitte Macron to take libel case to highest court of appeals

Brigitte Macron is not backing down in her legal battle against two women who have claimed the French first lady was born a man. 

Last week, a Paris appeals court overturned earlier convictions that found the two women guilty of spreading false claims. The court ruled that they had acted in good faith and quashed a previous order for them to pay damages.

Macron’s lawyer said on Monday that she would now take the case to the highest court of appeals. 

Macron filed a libel case against the pair over a 2021 YouTube video where they claimed that she used to be a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux. Trogneux is actually Macron’s brother.  

The video of spiritualist Amandine Roy and independent journalist Natacha Rey discussing gender-transition surgery and personal details of Trogneux went viral, prompting Macron to sue for defamation and invasion of privacy. 

Seventy-two-year-old Macron has been the target of several conspiracy theories, often centered around the 24-year age gap between her and her husband, Emmanuel Macron, the President of France.