French First Lady Brigitte Macron is appealing a recent court decision that overturned the convictions of two individuals accused of spreading false claims about her gender identity, her lawyer announced this week. The appeal seeks to restore legal accountability over a viral online conspiracy theory alleging she was assigned male at birth.
The original case, filed in 2022, stemmed from social media videos and blog posts that claimed Macron was born a man named “Jean-Michel Trogneux.” These allegations, widely debunked and condemned as transphobic disinformation, were seen as part of a smear campaign targeting President Emmanuel Macron’s political circle.
A lower court had initially convicted the two women involved — one a medium, the other an independent journalist — for defamation and invasion of privacy. However, a recent appeals court ruling overturned the convictions, prompting the First Lady’s legal team to challenge that verdict before France’s highest court.
Macron’s lawyer emphasized the importance of defending the dignity, privacy, and identity of public figures against fabricated narratives. The case has reignited national debate in France over freedom of expression, misinformation, and the boundaries of personal attack in the digital age.
