French president Macron and wife Brigitte sue US influencer for defamation

Enough is enough for the Elysée Palace.

French president Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron have sued right-wing American commentator Candace Owens for defamation on Wednesday.

Owens engages in what the Macrons consider defamatory attacks claiming without evidence that Brigitte Macron never existed and that she is in reality her brother Jean-Michel, who transitioned to become Brigitte.

The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday in a Delaware court after the French first couple said that they had demanded three times that Owen retract her statements.

The right-wing influencer however refused to do so, according to the lawsuit, and continued to spread her theories without proof.

This has led to what the lawsuit described as "global humiliation" for the Macrons and reputational damages.

These also included alleging that the couple were related and committed incest, as well as president Macron being chosen for a mind-control programme operated by the CIA.

The theories that Owens spread, notably through an eight-part podcast series, have found echo in the realm of conspiracy theorists, covid sceptics and the far-right.

Brigitte Macron earlier this year sued two French women, who also spread the theory that Mrs Macron was born a man, for libel. A French court however recently overturned the initial verdict that found the two women guilty. Mrs Macron is now taking the case to France's highest court of appeals.