Brigitte Trogneux may be most well-known for the unconventional start to her marriage to new French president Emmanuel Macron, but there’s a lot more you need to know about the French First Lady.
Trogneux used to be his teacher
As has been widely reported, Brigitte Trogneux met Emmanuel Macron when he was 15 and she was his drama teacher.
“He wasn’t like the others,” Trogneux said. “He wasn’t a teenager. He had a relationship of equals with other adults.”
“I didn’t think it would go very far …. I thought he would get bored. We wrote, and little by little I was totally overcome by the intelligence of this boy.”
Chocolate Heiress
Topping the list of dream empires, Trogneux is part of a French chocolate dynasty in Amiens. It’s been in the family for five generations and turns out a healthy profit of over €4 million per year, thanks to their famous macaroons.
In 2014, a local joked to Le Parisien that, “We already had the macaroon from Amiens. Now we also have the Macron d’Amiens!”
Fashionista
The First Lady has refused to conform to colour-blocked power dresses of other political wives and embraces a modern style.
Delphine de Canecaude, a Paris-based art director, told L’Express: “She’s rock’n’roll. Not for a second does she say, ‘I’m 63, so I cannot wear short skirts’. Twelve-inch heels, sleeveless dresses, leather trousers, she dares everything. She is a mega wonderwoman.”
She’ll have a role in his administration
Rather than playing an impassive wife, Trogneux will have an unpaid role in Macron’s government – most likely in the education field and working for disadvantaged and autistic children.
“If I’m elected — no, sorry, when we are elected — she will be there, with a role and place,” Macron told supporters in April.
This meaningful role in the president’s administration reflects the party’s pledge to offer every woman maternity leave as well as a commitment to equal pay in both public and private sectors.
She’s quick on her feet
Although the new French First Lady hasn’t given a lot of interviews (yet) she’s revealed a quick wit and sharp tongue.
When reporters probed as to why her husband was “so good at politics”, she responded that, “He is good at everything. Not just politics, you’re being quite restrictive.”
She then added: “I’m yet to find an area where he isn’t good”, much to the amusement of the Le Petit Journal journalists.
Her second oldest child is the same age as her husband
Although Trogneux and Macron don’t share any biological children, the stunning 64-year-old has three children and seven grandchildren. Her middle child, Laurence, is the same age as Macron and was his classmate when she described him as “that amazing guy” who “knows everything about everything”.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
