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Brigitte Macron

Brigitte Macron
Macron in 2024
Spouse of the President of France
Current
Assumed role
14 May 2017
PresidentEmmanuel Macron
Preceded byValérie Trierweiler (2014)
Personal details
Born
Brigitte Marie-Claude Trogneux

(1953-04-13) 13 April 1953 (age 71)
Amiens, France
Spouses
André-Louis Auzière
​
​
(m. 1974; div. 2006)​
​
(m. 2007)​
Children3, including Laurence Auzière-Jourdan
OccupationTeacher (formerly)

Brigitte Marie-Claude Macron (French: [bʁiʒit maʁi klod makʁɔ̃]; née Trogneux [tʁɔɲø], previously Auzière [ozjɛːʁ]; born 13 April 1953) is a French former teacher known for being the wife of Emmanuel Macron, the current president of France and co-prince of Andorra.[1][2]

Early life

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Brigitte Macron was born Brigitte Marie-Claude Trogneux in Amiens, France. She is the youngest of six children[3] of Simone (née Pujol; 1910–1998) and Jean Trogneux (1909–1994), the owners of the five-generation Chocolaterie Trogneux,[4] founded in 1872 in Amiens.[5] The company, now known as Jean Trogneux,[6] is run by her nephew, Jean-Alexandre Trogneux.[4]

Career

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Macron, at the time Brigitte Auzière, taught literature at the Collège Lucie-Berger in Strasbourg in the 1980s.[7] By the 1990s, she was teaching French and Latin at Lycée la Providence, a Jesuit high school in Amiens. From 2007 to 2015, she taught at Lycée Saint-Louis de Gonzague,[8] in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, one of the most prestigious French private schools. At that institution, she was the French teacher of Frédéric and Jean Arnault, sons of French luxury business tycoon Bernard Arnault.[9]

It was at the after-school drama club of Lycée la Providence where she and Emmanuel Macron first met.[10] She was in charge of the after-school theater club he attended when he was 15 alongside her own daughter Laurence who was in his class.[11] Their relationship has attracted controversy, as she is his senior by close to 25 years, and he was a minor; Macron has described it as "a love often clandestine, often hidden, misunderstood by many before imposing itself".[12]

Politics

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French president Emmanuel Macron kisses Brigitte's hand during a state visit at the White House with U.S. president Donald Trump and Melania Trump in April 2018.

In 1989, Brigitte Macron (then Auzière) unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the city council of Truchtersheim.[7] It was the only time she ran for office.[7]

In 2017, Brigitte Macron played an active role in her husband's presidential campaign; a top adviser was quoted as saying that "her presence is essential for him".[13] During his campaign, Emmanuel Macron stated that upon his winning of the French presidency, his wife would "have the role that she always had, she will not be hidden".[14]

He proposed creating an official "first lady" (première dame) title (as the spouse of the French president currently holds no official title) coming with their own staff, office and a personally allocated budget for their activities.[15] Following Macron's election as president and his previously outspoken stance against nepotism,[16] a petition against his proposal gathered more than 275,000 signatures, and the French government announced that Brigitte Macron would not hold the official title of "first lady" and would not be allocated an official budget.[17] In an interview with French magazine Elle, she stated that a soon-to-be published transparency charter would clarify her "role and accompanying resources", including the composition and size of her staff. This charter was published the following Friday.[18]

Public image

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The Macron couple and the Trump couple at the 2019 G7

Brigitte Macron has been the subject of glowing articles in the Daily Mail, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and The Observer.[19] Her style of dress at international meetings has often been commented upon.[20] For its part, the Financial Times described her style as similar to that of an "Essex girl".[21] Close to Bernard Arnault's family, she was dressed for free by Louis Vuitton during her official outings, which created controversy.[22][23]

Complaints

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In March 2018, the office of the Élysée Palace filed a complaint for identity theft after discovering that Brigitte Macron's name was being used to obtain preferential treatment in luxury establishments through a false email address. According to the office, the complaint was related to "a very clear attempt to harm [Brigitte Macron's] reputation".[24] In October 2021, a 35-year-old man who claimed to be Brigitte Macron's nephew was sentenced to 30 months in prison, 18 of which were suspended, for identity theft, attempted fraud, and fraud as a repeat offender.[25]

Yellow Vest slogan (“Well, give them biofuel!”) targeting Brigitte Macron, in reference to a statement attributed to Marie-Antoinette

In August 2020, during the presidential couple's vacation at the Fort de Brégançon, yellow vest protesters gathered on a nearby beach and launched several inflatable lobsters, one of which bore insults directed at the "First Lady". On September 30, before the Toulon Criminal Court, one of the protesters was tried for "public insult to the President of the Republic" and "public insult and defamation of individual(s)". According to Var-Matin, the case was dismissed due to a procedural defect. Lawyer Juan Branco argued that an employee of the Élysée Palace filed the complaint without a mandate and in the absence of Brigitte Macron's signature, leading the court to accept the nullity plea based on the provisions of the law of July 29, 1881, on freedom of the press.[26][27]

On August 22, 2018, Thierry-Paul Valette filed a complaint against Brigitte Macron[28] at the Lisieux police station as part of the transparency charter. The grounds for the complaint were the offenses of passive influence peddling, passive corruption, and complicity in a passive conflict of interest by a person charged with a public service mission. The case was closed without further action in August 2019.[29]

Brigitte Macron's image has also been illegally exploited by several scammers online, who used it to sell and promote anti-wrinkle creams, falsely claiming she was the muse or creator of these products.[30]

Personal life

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On 22 June 1974, Brigitte married banker André-Louis Auzière (1951–2019),[31][32] with whom she had three children (Sébastien, born 1975; Laurence, born 1977; and Tiphaine, born 1984).[8] They resided in Truchtersheim until 1991, when they moved to Amiens.[7] In 1993, at the age of 40, she met the 15-year-old Emmanuel Macron in La Providence High School,[33] where she was a teacher and he was a student and a classmate of her daughter.[34] Brigitte divorced Auzière in January 2006 and married Macron on 20 October 2007.[35][36]

Honours

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Foreign honours

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References

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  1. ^ "French President arrives in Japan for G20 summit". NHK World. 26 June 2019. Archived from the original on 28 June 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  2. ^ "Brigitte Trogneux – La biographie de Brigitte Trogneux avec Gala.fr". Gala.fr (in French). Média Prisma. Archived from the original on 25 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  3. ^ "Brigitte TROGNEUX – Fraternelle : l'encyclopédie biographique de l'Homo erectus – Geneanet". Geneanet. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  4. ^ a b Lévy-Frébault, Tiphaine (25 June 2015). "Qui est Brigitte Trogneux, l'épouse d'Emmanuel Macron?". L'Express. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  5. ^ "Arras : la chocolaterie Trogneux va déménager sur la place des Héros". La Voix du Nord. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  6. ^ "Homepage". Jean Trogneux. Archived from the original on 9 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d Hartzer, Renaud (8 May 2017). "Brigitte Macron a fait ses premiers pas en politique... en Alsace". France 3 Grand Est. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  8. ^ a b "Brigitte Macron". elysee.fr. 15 November 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Les petits secrets de la famille Arnault, propriétaire de LVMH". Capital.fr (in French). 5 April 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  10. ^ Druckerman, Pamela (2 February 2017). "Sex and the French Elections". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  11. ^ "France's Macron defied parental veto on schoolboy love affair with teacher". Reuters. 12 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  12. ^ Sommerlad, Joe (20 June 2022). "French parliamentary elections: Emmanuel Macron in profile". The Independent.
  13. ^ "The Singular Woman Behind France's Front-Runner". Bloomberg.com. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  14. ^ Pithers, Ellie. "How Brigitte Macron Is Redefining First Lady Dressing". British Vogue. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  15. ^ Willsher, Kim (6 August 2017). "Emmanuel Macron under fire for plan to give wife 'first lady' role". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  16. ^ Masters, James (7 August 2017). "Emmanuel Macron under fire over wife's 'First Lady' role". CNN. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  17. ^ Willsher, Kim (8 August 2017). "No 'first lady' title for Brigitte Macron after petition over her status". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  18. ^ "Brigitte Macron: A 'first lady' in all but title – France 24". France 24. 17 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  19. ^ "Les 50 Français les plus influents du monde". Vanity Fair. December 2017. p. 90.
  20. ^ Julia, Avellaneda (21 September 2017). "Les jupes courtes de Brigitte Macron à New York divisent la presse internationale". Madame Figaro (in French). Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  21. ^ "Le Financial Times s'interroge sur le style "cagole" de Brigitte Macron". L'Express (in French). 10 May 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  22. ^ "Polémique : Brigitte Macron habillée gratuitement par LVMH". Marie Claire (in French). Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  23. ^ "Les petits secrets de la famille Arnault, propriétaire de LVMH". Capital.fr (in French). 5 April 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  24. ^ "Le cabinet de Brigitte Macron porte plainte pour « usurpation d'identité »". Le Point (in French). 30 March 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  25. ^ "Le «faux neveu» de Brigitte Macron condamné à un an de prison ferme". Le Figaro (in French). 26 October 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  26. ^ Leboucq, Fabien. "Brigitte Macron a-t-elle perdu un procès en diffamation contre un gilet jaune ?". Libération (in French). Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  27. ^ rédaction, La (30 September 2020). "Le tribunal de Toulon annule une procédure visant un Gilet jaune pour "injures" envers Brigitte et Emmanuel Macron". Var-Matin (in French). Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  28. ^ "Cet habitant de Lisieux dépose plainte contre Brigitte Macron". actu.fr (in French). 22 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  29. ^ valette, thierry paul (29 August 2019). "Plainte contre Brigitte Macron classée sans suite". Mediapart (in French). Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  30. ^ à 06h28, Par Ava Djamshidi Le 9 mai 2018 (9 May 2018). "Ces escrocs qui utilisent l'image de Brigitte Macron". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 27 August 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  31. ^ Cédric Rémia (27 April 2017). "Qui est André-Louis Auzière, l'ex-mari de Brigitte Macron ?". Télé-Loisirs. Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  32. ^ Sophie des Déserts (7 October 2020). "Emmanuel Macron, son projet d'école, le décès de son père… Tiphaine Auzière se confie à Paris Match". Paris Match. Archived from the original on 16 April 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2022..
  33. ^ "'I will come back and I will marry you': How Emmanuel Macron met his teacher and wife Brigitte Trogneux". DNA India. 8 May 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  34. ^ Fulda, Anne (17 July 2018). "The Macron affair: How the French election winner's parents discovered he was dating his teacher". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  35. ^ Gerber, Louis. "Emmanuel Macron the new French minister of the economy". www.cosmopolis.ch. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  36. ^ VIDEO. Les images du mariage d'Emmanuel Macron temps de Brigitte Trogneux diffusées. Le Parisien (22 November 2016).
  37. ^ "Modtagere af danske dekorationer". Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  38. ^ Quirinale website
  39. ^ "Le président Emmanuel Macron élevé dans la dignité de grand croix de l'ordre national". Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  40. ^ "Statsbesök från Frankrike". 30 January 2024. Archived from the original on 30 January 2024.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brigitte Macron.
Unofficial roles
Vacant
Title last held by
Valérie Trierweiler 		Spouse of the President of France
2017–present 		Incumbent