Macron Defends First Lady Amid False Transgender Claims

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, are planning to present "photographic and scientific evidence" to prove that the French First Lady is not a transgender woman after American political commentator Candace Owens filed a defamation lawsuit in July.

This comes as Candace Owens has repeatedly promoted transphobic allegations against Brigitte Macron, claiming she was assigned male at birth, named Jean-Michel Trogneux, and that she "groomed" the teenage Emmanuel Macron before transitioning to female.

Macron's lawyer, Tom Clare, one of the founders of the firm Clare Lock, told the BBC's Fame Under Fire podcast that Mrs. Macron found these claims "extremely disturbing" and "distracting" the French president.

Clare said, “I don't want to say that this has somehow thrown them off their game. But like anyone who balances career and family life, when your family is attacked, it does bother you. And he is no exception, because he is the president of a country.”

He added that “the expert testimony that will be presented will be scientific in nature.” Clare did not reveal the “exact nature” of the testimony, but said the couple were “prepared to thoroughly prove, both generally and specifically,” that the allegations were false.

Speaking of Macron, Clare said, “These people are certainly important on the world stage, but they are also human beings, and accusing them of criminal acts and conspiring to lie to the world about their identities is insulting and hurtful.”

She said, “It's incredibly disturbing to think that you have to dedicate yourself to presenting such evidence.”

Brigitte Macron, a 72-year-old mother of three, met her husband, Emmanuel Macron, who is 24 years her junior, while teaching at a high school in the northern French city of Amiens, where he was a student.

According to a BBC report, when asked if Macron would provide photos of Brigitte pregnant and raising their children, Claire said such photos exist and will be presented in court, where there are rules and standards.

Suovens, 36, who has more than 6 million followers on Instagram, has repeatedly claimed that the First Lady of France is a transgender woman and was “born male.” In March 2024, she claimed she would stake her “entire professional reputation” on the allegation.

According to a BBC report, the allegation first spread in fringe online spaces several years ago, first through a YouTube video in 2021 by French bloggers Amandine Roy and Natasha Ray.

Macron initially won a defamation case in France against Roy and Ray in 2024, but that decision was overturned on appeal in 2025 on grounds of freedom of expression, not truth.