logo
Brigitte Macron launches appeal against acquittal in gender rumours case

Brigitte Macron launches appeal against acquittal in gender rumours case

Yahoo15-07-2025
Brigitte Macron, the wife of the French president, has lodged an appeal with France's highest appeals court, the Court of Cassation, after the Paris court of appeal last Thursday acquitted two women who spread a rumour online alleging that she is a transgender woman, her lawyer told French news agency AFP.
On Thursday, the Paris appeals court overturned earlier convictions against the two women for spreading false claims, which went viral online, that Brigitte Macron, 72, had been born a man.
Macron filed a libel complaint against the two women after they posted a YouTube video in December 2021, alleging she had once been a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux – who is actually her brother.
Macron's lawyer Jean Ennochi told French news agency AFP on Sunday that Trogneux too was filing an appeal.
Disinformation targeting Brigitte Macron spreads beyond France
Disinformation on Macron's gender has circulated on social media for years. Her 24-year age difference with President Emmanuel Macron has also attracted much comment.
In the video at the centre of the libel complaint, defendant Amandine Roy, a self-proclaimed spiritual medium, interviewed Natacha Rey, a self-described independent journalist, for four hours on her YouTube channel.
Rey spoke about the 'state-sponsored lie" and "scam" she claimed to have uncovered – that Jean-Michel Trogneux had changed gender to become Brigitte, and then married the future president.
The claim went viral, including among conspiracy theorists in the United States.
Read more on RFI EnglishRead also:France's Brigitte Macron to sue over claims she was born a man
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump eyes 'world tariff' of 15-20% for most countries
Trump eyes 'world tariff' of 15-20% for most countries

Yahoo

time14 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Trump eyes 'world tariff' of 15-20% for most countries

By Andrea Shalal TURNBERRY, Scotland (Reuters) -President Donald Trump said on Monday most trading partners that do not negotiate separate trade deals would soon face tariffs of 15% to 20% on their exports to the United States, well above the broad 10% tariff he imposed in April. Trump told reporters his administration will notify some 200 countries soon of their new "world tariff" rate. "I would say it'll be somewhere in the 15 to 20% range," Trump told reporters, sitting alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his luxury golf resort in Turnberry, Scotland. "Probably one of those two numbers." Trump, who has vowed to end decades of U.S. trade deficits by imposing tariffs on nearly all trading partners, has already announced higher rates of up to 50% on some countries, including Brazil, starting on Friday. The announcements have spurred feverish negotiations by a host of countries seeking lower tariff rates, including India, Pakistan, Canada, and Thailand, among others. The U.S. president on Sunday clinched a huge trade deal with the European Union that includes a 15% tariff on most EU goods, $600 billion of investments in the U.S. by European firms, and $750 billion in energy purchases over the next three years. That followed a $550-billion deal with Japan last week and smaller agreements with Britain, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Other talks are ongoing, including with India, but prospects have dimmed for many more agreements before Friday, Trump's deadline for deals before higher rates take effect. Trump has repeatedly said he favors straightforward tariff rates over complex negotiations. "We're going to be setting a tariff for essentially, the rest of the world," he said again on Monday. "And that's what they're going to pay if they want to do business in the United States. Because you can't sit down and make 200 deals." Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Monday trade talks with the U.S. were at an intense phase, conceding that his country was still hoping to walk away with a tariff rate below the 35% announced by Trump on some Canadian imports. Carney conceded this month that Canada - which sends 75% of its exports to the United States - would likely have to accept some tariffs. (Additional reporting by Andrew MacAskill in Turnberry, Andrea Shalal in Edinburgh and William James in LondonEditing by Rod Nickel) Sign in to access your portfolio

Trump Claims Epstein ‘Stole' Workers From Him
Trump Claims Epstein ‘Stole' Workers From Him

Forbes

time17 minutes ago

  • Forbes

Trump Claims Epstein ‘Stole' Workers From Him

President Donald Trump said he cut ties with Jeffrey Epstein because Epstein repeatedly poached his employees—the first time he's cited that as a reason for their falling out as he seeks to distance himself from the convicted sex offender amid a persistent saga that's led to a break with Trump's base. President Donald Trump gestures as he meets British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for bilateral talks ... More at Trump Turnberry golf club on July 28, 2025 in Turnberry, Scotland. (Photo by) Getty Images Trump said 'for years, I wouldn't talk to Jeffrey Epstein' because 'he stole people that work for me,' the president told reporters Monday during his visit to Scotland. Previous reports have suggested Trump banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after Epstein made advances towards another member's teenage daughter and that Epstein and Trump had a falling out when Trump outbid Epstein for a Palm Beach mansion in 2004. Trump gave the new reason he said Epstein became 'persona non grata' to him as the blowback surrounding the Justice Department's decision not to release additional documents related to its Epstein investigation has continued for a month, bringing renewed attention to Trump's own personal relationship with Epstein. Trump on Monday also repeated a claim he made last week that he never went to Epstein's island in the Caribbean, Little Saint James, telling reporters he was invited but 'turned it down' and claiming, without evidence, former President Bill Clinton went there dozens of times, despite Clinton denying previously he ever visited the island.

Analysis-How US-EU aerospace rivals united to preserve tariff-free aircraft trade
Analysis-How US-EU aerospace rivals united to preserve tariff-free aircraft trade

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Analysis-How US-EU aerospace rivals united to preserve tariff-free aircraft trade

By Tim Hepher, David Shepardson and Rajesh Kumar Singh PARIS (Reuters) -A provisional deal between the United States and European Union to exempt aircraft from tariffs avoids a potential threat to jet production and deliveries in both regions and caps months of uncharacteristic unity among plane-making rivals. The framework deal, announced on Sunday, will see the U.S. impose a 15% import tariff on most EU goods but offer protection for industries including aerospace, with zero-for-zero tariffs on aircraft and parts, European officials said. Following intense lobbying, it spares an industry that is often a lightning rod for trade tensions, with the World Trade Organization tested to its limits by a 17-year dispute over Airbus and Boeing subsidies before a truce in 2021. Aircraft, engines, spare parts, and components from landing gear to seats had faced potentially higher costs and some jet deliveries looked set to be disrupted by the threatened U.S. tariffs that would have compounded supply chain problems. Still, questions remain over detailed implementation of the deal and whether it will extend to other components like space. "We are just waiting until we see these things written down," one European industry official told Reuters. Airbus said it had taken note of the deal. "A stable and predictable trade environment is essential for our highly integrated global aerospace industry," it said. Boeing had no immediate comment. UNITED CAMPAIGN Sunday's agreement follows a discreet and unusually united campaign to revert to a landmark 1979 agreement between over 30 nations that mandated duty-free trading in civil aircraft. An industry that only a few years earlier had torn itself apart over trade disputes on subsidies involving Airbus and Boeing found itself in lockstep on both sides of the Atlantic. But two terms from the industry's previous trade handbook were quietly dropped, sources said: multilateral and WTO. The 1979 Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft that eliminated tariffs on aircraft and parts is one of a handful of industry-specific deals that survived from an earlier round of trade talks when the World Trade Organization opened in 1995. U.S. President Donald Trump, who once called the WTO "the single worst trade deal ever made," appears to prefer bilateral deals over broad alliances from trade to security, and "multilateralism" is one of the biggest bugbears of his America First philosophy. Lobbying was intense from all quarters but industry sources highlighted a discreet but influential role played by GE Aerospace CEO Larry Culp. Culp told Reuters in April he had advocated re-establishing the tariff-free regime for the aerospace industry during a meeting with Trump at the White House. He said the position was "understood" by the administration, stressing that the zero-duty regime had helped the U.S. aerospace industry reach a $75 billion annual trade surplus. Industry officials also argued aerospace was interconnected and that U.S. tariffs would not favour Boeing at the expense of its European rival Airbus, but merely hurt everyone. GE did not have any immediate comment on the new deal. In May, Trump reached a trade accord with Britain that tested the ground by restoring duty-free trading in jet engines. 'TEMPLATE' FOR TALKS After the US-UK trade deal, aerospace industry officials urged the White House to use it as a template for future trade negotiations. GE's Culp and Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian mentioned the deal as a template to follow. The agreement stops short of restoring the whole 1979 agreement and focuses on the single largest aerospace markets. Boeing typically delivers 17% of its jets to Europe while Airbus delivers some 12% to the United States, some of which are assembled locally, according to Boeing and Cirium data. But Europe and the U.S. are each other's largest market for aircraft components, according to French industry lobby Gifas. Although the agreement relieves one significant source of pressure, there are concerns that Boeing, Airbus and their suppliers could still be caught up indirectly in trade tensions between Washington and China, as they seek to do business there. Aerospace companies are also awaiting findings from an ongoing U.S. trade investigation into aerospace. In May, the U.S. Commerce Department launched a "Section 232" national security investigation into imports of commercial aircraft, jet engines and parts that could form the basis for tariffs or quotas. U.S. airlines who met the department say much of the focus has been on China and concerns over potential further disruption to key supplies, on top of rare earths and magnets. It could also be used to impose new tariffs on Brazil, home to Embraer, for whose regional jets there are few alternatives. U.S. carriers currently face 50% tariffs on imports of the jets, which Embraer says could add $9 million per plane. Alaska Air said last week it could defer some deliveries. (Writing by Tim HepherEditing by Bernadette Baum) Effettua l'accesso per consultare il tuo portafoglio

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store