Brigitte Macron, the wife of the French president, has lodged an appeal with France's highest appeals court, the Court of Cassation, after the Paris court of appeal last Thursday acquitted two women who spread a rumour online alleging that she is a transgender woman, her lawyer told French news agency AFP.
On Thursday, the Paris appeals court overturned earlier convictions against the two women for spreading false claims, which went viral online, that Brigitte Macron, 72, had been born a man.
Macron filed a libel complaint against the two women after they posted a YouTube video in December 2021, alleging she had once been a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux – who is actually her brother.
Macron's lawyer Jean Ennochi told AFP on Sunday that Trogneux too was filing an appeal.
Disinformation targeting Brigitte Macron spreads beyond France
Persistent rumours
Disinformation on Macron's gender has circulated on social media for years.
In the video at the centre of the libel complaint, defendant Amandine Roy, a self-proclaimed spiritual medium, interviewed Natacha Rey, a self-described independent journalist, for four hours on her YouTube channel.
Rey spoke about the “state-sponsored lie" and "scam" she claimed to have uncovered – that Jean-Michel Trogneux had changed gender to become Brigitte, and then married the future president.
In the video, they shared photographs of Brigitte Macron and her family, speculated about surgeries she might have undergone, claimed she was not the biological mother of her three children, and disclosed personal details about her brother.
The claim went viral, including among conspiracy theorists in the United States.
Two women guilty of false transgender claims against France's first lady
A lower court in September last year had ordered the two women to pay €8,000 in damages to Macron, and €5,000 to her brother.
But last week the two defendants, Rey and Roy, were acquitted with respect to 18 articles challenged by Macron and her brother.
Only one segment – referencing the corruption of a minor – fell within the scope of French press law. However, the court also issued an acquittal on that point, this time citing good faith.
French legal response
The Court of Cassation will now examine whether the appeal court correctly interpreted and applied the law. It does not reassess the facts of the case, but may quash or uphold the ruling on legal grounds.
The case highlights growing legal and political efforts in France to tackle the spread of disinformation online, particularly when it targets public figures.
The French government has in recent years taken a more assertive stance against digital misinformation, especially during election periods and in instances involving defamatory content.
Several female political figures worldwide have previously been targeted by disinformation that they are transgender, including former US first lady Michelle Obama, former US vice president Kamala Harris and former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern.
(with newswires)
