Brigitte Macron, France's First Lady, Said to Sue Over Trans Rumors

Brigitte Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron and first lady of France, plans to "initiate proceedings" against the instigators of rumors circulating on social media that she is trans, reports the French newspaper Le Figaro.

According to the French publication�Numerama,�journalist Natacha Rey said she had undertaken a three-year investigation into Brigitte Macron and had spoken to "many experts," leading her to the conclusion that the First Lady had been born "Jean-Michel Trogneux."

"The story is wrong," writes Numerama, providing a fact-check. "But this false information is far from going unnoticed: shared by some of the most influential conspiratorial accounts, discussed in far-right circles and in anti-Semitic groups, it has grown considerably, to the point that it is now out of the public purse. social networks.�How could a speech like this end up among the most discussed subjects in France?"

"For several days, the hashtag #JeanMichelTrogneux was indeed among the most discussed subjects in France on Twitter," adds Le Figaro.�"This false information, both deceptive and transphobic, has been widely relayed by a myriad of social network users versed in conspiracy theories."

"In Facebook posts, Rey claims that Macron's children were conceived when she previously had a relationship with a cisgender woman," writes Pink News.

"The hashtag�#JeanMichelTrogneux began trending on Twitter, with users claiming that 'proof' of Macron being transgender included that there are few public photos of her in her youth, and that she often 'hides her neck,'" adds Pink News.

But Le Figaro adds that Brigitte Macron is not the only public figure to have their identities questioned. Former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, as well as the current Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern, have both had their gender identities questioned.

"Conspiracy theorists have also claimed�that French president Emmanuel Macron is gay," adds Pink News, "in an attempt to tarnish his image.�The president has been linked to multiple men, including his ex-bodyguard Alexandre Benalla and�Mathieu Gallet, the former head of Radio France, by conspiracy theorists."

He has denied the rumors. In 2017 said: "I am who I am, I have never had anything to hide.