First lady of France to sue over Twitter rumours she is a man and called Jean-Michel Trogneux
Rumours started after journal claimed it had conducted three-year investigation on Brigitte Macron
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The first lady of France has said that she will take legal action after rumours claiming that she was born as a man with the name Jean-Michel Trogneux circulated on French Twitter.
French president Emmanuel Macron’s wife, 68-year-old Brigitte Macron, will sue the instigators of the bizarre conspiracy theory, Paris-based newspaper Le Figaro reported.
The rumour started when right-wing journal Faits et Documents published an article in September claiming it had conducted a three-year investigation into Ms Macron, and that their theory was supported by many experts, according to CNews.
On 10 December, the journalist who claimed to have “investigated” the claims — Natacha Rey — gave an interview about the theory that lasted almost four hours, according to Numerama. The video was deleted but not before it had gained a viewership of 470,000 people.
Days later, on 13 December, the hashtag #JeanMichelTrogneux entered the top trends on Twitter in France. The hashtag was used more than 66,000 times on Twitter. The hashtag was the most discussed topic on the social media platform for days and several users bought into the theory.
Trogneux is Ms Macron’s maiden name.
These rumours have surfaced just months before the next French presidential election in April. There were several distasteful memes and jokes about the French first lady on the social media platform, and reports said she was “furious” with the rumour about her gender.
This is not the first time a powerful female figure has been hit by this sort of absurd rumour. Michelle Obama, the former first lady of the US and Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand, have both been victims of conspiracy theories about their sex.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments