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French President Macron Sues Candace Owens Over Claim France's First Lady Was Born Male
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By Reuters
Published 3 weeks ago on
July 23, 2025

France's President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron attend a ceremony during their visit to The British Museum in London, Britain, July 9, 2025. (Reuters File)

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French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte filed a defamation lawsuit in the U.S. on Wednesday against right-wing influencer Candace Owens, centered on her claim that France’s first lady is male.

The Macrons said in a lawsuit filed in Delaware Superior Court that Owens has waged a lie-filled “campaign of global humiliation” and “relentless bullying” to promote her podcast and expand her “frenzied” fan base.

The Macrons said the lies included that Brigitte Macron, 72, was born under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux, the actual name of her older brother.

“Every time the Macrons leave their home, they do so knowing that countless people have heard, and many believe, these vile fabrications,” the complaint said. “It is invasive, dehumanizing, and deeply unjust.”

Owens did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. Macron’s office declined comment.

The 22-count complaint seeks an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages.

Wednesday’s lawsuit is a rare case of a world leader suing for defamation. U.S. President Donald Trump has filed multiple defamation lawsuits, including against the publisher of The Wall Street Journal last week.

To prevail in U.S. defamation cases, public figures like the Macrons and Trump must show defendants engaged in “actual malice,” meaning they knew what they published was false or had reckless disregard for its truth.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional reporting by Michel Rose in Paris; Editing by Noeleen Walder and David Gregorio)

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