At the Paris judicial court,
Americans have “pizza gate”. A lame theory, circulating for years, according to which someone close to Hillary Clinton is linked to a pedophile ring operating in the basement of a Washington pizzeria. In France, the affair which is shaking up the conspiracy sphere involves the wife of the President of the Republic, and her brother Jean-Michel Trogneux. The latter would have changed sex, taken “Brigitte” as his first name, and exercised the profession of teacher under this identity. He then got together with Emmanuel, one of his students who was around fifteen years old at the time. A secret protected by the highest authorities of the Republic, with the complicity of the media.
The rumor gained momentum in December 2021 after the broadcast, on YouTube and Twitch, of an interview with Nathalie Rey. This 54-year-old “independent journalist”, who calls herself “Natacha”, claims to have “investigated for three years” on Emmanuel Macron’s wife. For about 4 hours, Delphine Jégusse, a 50-year-old “medium” with the pseudonym “Amandine Roy”, listens to him develop his thesis, asks him questions, agrees. Only the latter is present, this Thursday, at the Paris judicial court, the conspiracy theorist “Élise Lucet” having shown up pale.
CIA, embezzlement of minors and “state lies”
The president of the 17th chamber, before which the two women are being tried this Wednesday for defamation, decides to screen a few selected pieces. Not without some technical problems. “Normally it works. Well, no,” laughs the magistrate. Impossible to project long extracts on the giant screen. You will therefore have to make do with the bailiff’s computer monitor.
During this interview tinged with homophobia, Nathalie Rey says she was intrigued by the “strangeness” of Brigitte Macron’s “physics”. She was led to carry out research on her because she did not believe “the official version of her past life”. “There is nothing that holds water. » The self-proclaimed journalist therefore “tried to find out a little more” about what she describes as an “extremely serious scandal”, an “official legend”.
The two women talk together about a mysterious CIA operation; the falsification of administrative documents intended to hide that the first lady was in reality a man; people who would never have existed, like Brigitte Macron’s first husband; “diversion” of minors; the health crisis; retouched family photos; of a President of the Republic “under mental control” of his wife; of a “state lie”.
“Respect for the right to information”
Blue denim pants and jacket, short, blond and curly hair, Delphine Jéguousse steps up to the stand. The defendant explains to the court that she did not know Nathalie Rey before filming this video. The latter contacted her because “she was having difficulty making her work visible”. “I felt obliged to open my channel to him, out of respect for the right to information. » She affirms that she “never took ownership” of this “investigation”, that the interview was complicated to carry out. During this interview, the two women, she said, “raise questions” and present to spectators “anomalous issues” that have been kept silent by “the mainstream media” of which she distrusts.
“I never envisaged that it would take this turn,” assures the defendant, adding that the thesis defended by her guest “has gone viral worldwide”. According to her, the affair took on other proportions “after the retweet of a Twitter account”. But to hear it, Delphine Jégusse, who “does not claim to be a journalist”, would have endured this very long interview with Nathalie Rey, which would have prevented her from distancing herself from the comments made. “It’s complicated to frame. It was my first interview, if I had to do it again, it wouldn’t last 4 and a half hours like this. »
One of the assessors wonders why Delphine Jégousse calls into question the work of the major media but not that of Nathalie Rey. The latter, grumbles the defendant, gave her “factual elements”. And she would have liked professional journalists to do “checks on their own”. “We had to continue the investigation. » However, as the three magistrates note, in this video, she seems to “confirm” and adhere to the thesis put forward by the so-called investigator, without ever doubting it. Why was this “subject” so “serious” according to her? “These people, at this level of power and representativeness, we must be able to know if there has been a lie. »
“It’s really surreal”
“Are you afraid of anyone? » asks his lawyer. “I am in four proceedings for the two Macrons,” replies Delphine Jégousse in tears. In January 2023, the head of state notably filed a complaint against her after the publication a poster showing him as Adolf Hitler with the slogan “Obey and get vaccinated”.
“It’s really surreal,” pleads Me Jean Ennochi, who presents the birth certificates of his two clients to the court. A document which notably includes the date of marriage and divorce of Brigitte Macron. “We couldn’t modify these documents, unless it was the CIA,” he jokes. It also shows the voter card of Jean-Michel Trogneux “which was stamped” during the last elections. “How could he have voted ten days ago if he really couldn’t be found?” » According to him, “the damage is enormous” and “must be compensated” to the tune of 20,000 euros for his clients.
“Nothing to do with defamation”
We must not “attribute” to Delphine Jégousse the allegations of Natacha Rey who was “freewheeling”, argues her lawyer, Me Maud Marian. Her client “must not pay today for the comments” made by her guest.
For Natacha Rey’s lawyer, Me François Danglehant, “the speeches in question have nothing to do with defamation”. “It’s a critical investigation into the official biography of Brigitte Macron which contains holes in the racket,” he attempts with a style all his own.
The decision was reserved until September 12, 2024.