Macron to prove wife was not born a male

French President Emmanuel Macron is gearing up for a courtroom showdown in the US - armed not with politics, but with science.

- Deeksha Pandey

In a defamation case against rightwing influencer Candace Owens, Macron and his wife Brigitte are set to present scientific evidence to prove that France's First Lady was not born a man, putting a dramatic twist on a conspiracy theory that has stalked their marriage for years.

The move comes as part of a defamation lawsuit the couple filed in July against Owens and her media business, accusing her of peddling falsehoods to boost her profile, gain audience, and make money.

Brigitte Macron's life has long been under the microscope, partly due to the unusual trajectory of her relationship with the French president. She was a drama teacher when she met Emmanuel Macron at his high school in Amiens. Despite a 24year age gap, their relationship grew into a marriage that has fascinated and divided public opinion at home and abroad.

Owens, who has repeatedly doubled down on the claim that Brigitte Macron was born male under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux, declared last year she would “stake (her) entire professional reputation on the fact that Brigitte Macron is in fact a man" and followed up with an eight-part podcast series, 'Becoming Brigitte'.