Woman who called Macron’s wife a man seeks asylum in Russia – media

Natacha Rey has been prosecuted in France for alleging that Brigitte Macron underwent a sex change

French independent journalist Natacha Rey, who claimed that the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron was born a man, has said she is seeking political asylum in Russia. In an interview with Izvestia, Rey and her lawyer, Francois Danglehant, cited “persecution” in France as the reason for her decision.

In 2021, Rey alleged that Brigitte Macron was actually the transgender identity of her brother, Jean-Michel Trogneux. Rey spent three years researching Macron’s supposed secret and later published a video on her findings on social media. Since then, Rey has been the subject of judicial action in France.

In an interview on Monday explaining her decision to seek asylum in Russia, Rey described the country as a great democracy compared to France, which, in her view, persecutes the political opposition and restricts freedom of speech.

“Why did I choose Russia? Because it is a great nation, a great civilization which I admire, defending traditional and Christian values that are inherent to me,” she told Izvestia. According to Rey, Russia has been a “victim of a disinformation campaign and unjustified attacks by European and American media for decades.”

Her lawyer insists the charges against Rey were “fabricated.” According to him, false testimony was given by former family members of Brigitte Macron, including her ex-husband, Jean-Louis Auziere.

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French court fines women for calling Macron’s wife a man

Mrs. Macron sued Rey in 2022 over defamation and for violating her privacy. Last year, a Paris court fined Rey and ordered her to pay €8,000 ($8,200) in damages to the wife of the French president.

Commenting on Rey’s asylum aspirations, Danglehant said that the journalist believes she will be respected in Russia and will not face persecution.

He earlier said that Rey had submitted an asylum request to Russian State Duma Deputy Speaker Pyotr Tolsty. The latter, however, told RT on Monday that he had not received any requests so far, adding that “matters of citizenship are decided by the head of state.”

“She has not yet submitted an application but will soon send it to the Russian Embassy in Paris,” the lawyer told Izvestia. “She believes that in Russia, she may be seen as a normal person, someone with at least some value, somewhat like former US National Security Agency employee Edward Snowden.”

Emmanuel Macron was 17 years old when he declared his intention to marry Brigitte Marie-Claude Trogneux, who is 24 years his senior and was his literature teacher. Brigitte divorced banker Andre-Louis Auziere, with whom she had three children in 2006, and married Macron in 2007.