In France, journalist Natacha Rey, who was sued for claiming that President Emmanuel Macron's wife Brigitte Macron was "actually born male," was acquitted by the Paris Court of Appeal. This was reported by the publication Zamon.uz here.
According to Natacha Rey's lawyer François Dangleant, the court ruled in favor of the journalist. Rey is now planning to initiate new legal proceedings regarding Brigitte and her original surname, Jean-Michel Trogneux. She describes the previous accusations against her as "built on deception."
The journalist's claim first appeared in a video distributed on YouTube in December 2021. In the video, Rey emphasized that Brigitte was actually a man named Jean-Michel. The video spread quickly on social media, causing a major public uproar.
President Macron first addressed the issue in March 2024, stating that such false information was one of the most serious challenges in his political career.
In September of this year, a Paris court found Natacha Rey and another woman guilty of defamation and fined them 13,500 euros. However, the Court of Appeal overturned this decision.
This topic has also been widely covered in international media. For example, American journalist Candace Owens also promised to present "evidence" that Brigitte Macron was born male.
According to journalists, Macron was 15 years old when he began a relationship with his teacher Brigitte, who was 39 at the time. However, precise details about Brigitte's early life and education remain unclear.
Thus, the legal proceedings surrounding these claims have sparked important debates in France about freedom of speech, privacy, and the issue of misinformation on social media.
