The wife of French President Brigitte Macron has filed a complaint with the Supreme Court of France after yesterday the Court of Appeal in Paris acquitted two women who spread rumors on the Internet that she is transgender, the first lady's lawyer told Agence France-Presse, BTA reported.
Brigitte Macron's brother has also filed a complaint with the Supreme Court. The fake news about Macron quickly spread on social networks, including in the United States.
The two defendants - Natasha Ray and Amandine Roa - were acquitted on charges related to 18 articles dedicated to Brigitte Macron and her brother. Only one passage, which mentioned "abuse of minors", fell within the scope of the Press Act, but the court acquitted them.
At first instance, in September, Natasha Ray and Amandine Roa were found guilty and sentenced to a fine of 500 euros, as well as to pay a total of 8,000 euros in compensation to Brigitte Macron and 5,000 euros to her brother.
The case is based on a promotional video that has periodically appeared on social networks since Emmanuel Macron was first elected president of France in 2017. It claims that Brigitte Macron, born Brigitte Trogneux, never existed, but that her brother adopted this identity after a sex reassignment operation.
Ray and Roa played a significant role in popularizing this conspiracy theory in 2021. through a long "interview" on YouTube, lasting more than four hours, in which Roa interviewed Ray on the subject.