The Paris Court of Appeal on 10 July overturned the defamation convictions of Natacha Rey and Amandine Roy, two women who had claimed online that French First Lady Brigitte Macron was born male. The three-judge panel acquitted the pair on all 18 publications cited in the complaint brought by Macron and her brother, Jean-Michel Trogneux, ruling that the defendants acted in “good faith.” Rey, an independent writer, and Roy, a self-described medium, were found guilty in September 2024 by a lower court, which imposed a €500 suspended fine on each and ordered them to pay €8,000 in damages to Brigitte Macron and €5,000 to Trogneux. Those penalties have now been nullified. Macron’s lawyer Jean Ennochi said he disagrees with the appellate ruling and is examining further legal options. Rey’s counsel, François Danglehant, welcomed the decision and indicated his client may file a separate complaint alleging fraud by the First Lady. The unfounded gender-identity rumor has circulated on social media since Emmanuel Macron’s 2017 election and resurfaced during the current U.S. presidential campaign. Similar transphobic claims have previously targeted other female political figures worldwide.