French 'first lady' Brigitte Macron inspires television series
Film production company Gaumont says it intends to make a short series based on the life of Brigitte Macron, wife of the French president. Still in its early stages, it is not clear yet whether it will take the form of fiction or a documentary.
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Gaumont announced on Tuesday that it was launching the writing phase of a fiction series dedicated to Brigitte Macron.
"Gaumont is developing a series called Brigitte Une Femme Libre (Brigitte a Free Woman) in six episodes of 45 minutes," a press release from the production company said.
The cast and distributor have yet to be chosen.
Macron herself has not yet reacted to the subject, nor has the president's office, but her entourage noted: "We are not associated with this project which we learned about today through the press."
The screenwriters are Bénédicte Charles and Olivier Pouponneau, already co-authors of the series Mirage and J'ai Menti (I Lied).
The story is to cover Brigitte Trogneux's early years as a teacher in the northern town of Amiens, where she met her student and future husband Emmanuel – who was aged 15 at the time – up until her arrival at the Elysée Palace.
Making her mark
Born in 1953, Brigitte Macron has a master of arts degree and a secondary school teaching qualification in French language and literature. She began her career in Paris.
She has three children from her first marriage, and seven grandchildren.
Macron stopped teaching in 2015 to join her husband's election campaign in 2016.
Since her arrival at the Elysée Palace, she has made her mark supporting child protection policies, the fight against school bullying and improving conditions for people with disabilities.
Finding her feet as "first lady" has not always been smooth sailing, especially when it came to deciding on her official duties and whether or not she would have perks enjoyed by previous presidential wives.
Filmmakers have been inspired by the role, with a film dedicated to Bernadette Chirac, wife of former leader Jacques, in 2023. Catherine Deneuve played the title role in the true-false biopic, Bernadette.
In the United States, Natalie Portman played Jacqueline Kennedy, wife of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, in 2016 in Jackie.
Brigitte Macron is meanwhile tipped to be making an appearance in the series Emily in Paris.
Call me Brigitte
However, Brigitte made it clear from the beginning she had no intention of drawing too much of the spotlight to her role.
In her first interview after her husband won the presidential election in 2017, Macron told Elle magazine that she paid little attention to her status as France's first lady, adding she was happy for people to address her simply as "Brigitte."
"I don't feel as if I'm the 'first lady', which is the translation of an American expression, a figure of speech which does not appeal to me in the least. When I hear people say it, I always want to look behind me and say 'Who are they talking about?'.
"I am not the First Lady, nor the last, nor even a lady. I am simply Brigitte Macron."
However, the personal lives of the presidential couple and their age gap is periodically a source of media attention in both France and abroad.
Most recently Macron and her brother Jean-Michel Trogneux took legal action against two women who posted a Youtube video in December 2021 alleging she had once been a man named "Jean-Michel".
A Paris criminal court is to try them on charges of defamation in March next year, a source close to the case has said.
(with newswires)
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