A French appeals court Thursday overturned convictions against two women accused of libel against French First Lady Brigitte Macron, after they spread false claims she used to be a man that reached the United States.
Disinformation on Macron’s gender has circulated on social media for years. She has also been attacked over the 24-year age difference with President Emmanuel Macron.
The 72-year-old first lady, whose maiden name is Trogneux, has a brother called Jean-Michel.
Brigitte Macron filed a libel complaint against two women after they posted a YouTube video in December 2021, alleging she had once been a man named Jean-Michel.
In the video, 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 lie” and “scam” she claimed to have uncovered — that a certain Jean-Michel Trogneux had changed gender to become Brigitte, then married the president.
They discussed surgery she was supposed to have undergone, and revealed personal information about the first lady’s brother.
The claim went viral, including recently among conspiracy theorists in the United States.
A lower court in September last year ordered the two women to pay 8,000 euros in damages to Brigitte Macron, and 5,000 euros ($5,500) to her brother.
But the Paris Appeals Court on Thursday let them off, including over a false claim of “grooming a minor”, arguing they had made the...
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