Brigitte Macron: New series about French First Lady in the works, but she was reportedly never told

French First ladies are on a roll. While a feature film retracing the life of First Lady Bernadette Chirac came out in cinemas in October 2023, production company Gaumont announced on Tuesday 16 April that it was producing a series about Brigitte Macron. Indeed, the popularity of Emmanuel Macron's wife is such that Gaumont has decided to devote a biopic series to her, currently in development.

Currently titled Brigitte, une femme libre, which translates as Brigitte, a free woman, the project will focus on the life and unlikely destiny of Brigitte Macron, born Trogneux. According to the message posted by Gaumont on X on Tuesday 16 April, the series will 'retrace the extraordinary destiny of the First Lady, Brigitte Macron'.

Their post said:

Gaumont is developing a series entitled 𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆, 𝒖𝒏𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒎𝒎𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒃𝒓𝒆 in six 45-minute episodes. Written by Bénédicte Charles and Olivier Pouponneau, the series follows the romantic career of the First Lady, Brigitte Macron.

Brigitte Macron may also take part in Emily in Paris

While the fourth season of Emily in Paris is currently being filmed in the French capital, fans of the adventures of the young American woman, played by Lily Collins, were surprised to catch a glimpse of a special guest on 2 April 2024. The guest is none other than First Lady Brigitte Macron, who is expected to make an appearance in the new season, although the show's producers and the First Lady's representatives have given no further details about the circumstances in which she will appear.

Brigitte Macron is used to rubbing shoulders with international stars, and has even forged a lovely bond with Rihanna, who was full of praise for the French presidential couple in an interview with Interview magazine:

They're amazing people, actually. Very humble people in very powerful positions, but they're delightful, and Brigitte is such a graceful first lady.

Brigitte, a free woman: from teaching to the Élysée Palace

According to the Gaumont press release, the series will follow the extraordinary destiny of Brigitte Macron, from working as a teacher in an Amiens high school to her meeting with young Emmanuel Macron when he was still her pupil, and moving on to her moving to the Élysée Palace as official First Lady. It's enough to arouse the curiosity of both series fans and political scientists. For the moment, however, there is no further information: neither the cast nor the release date have been decided, and Gaumont is reportedly still looking for a distributor. The series is expected to comprise six episodes of 45 minutes each.

However, BBC News reports that a source close to the First Lady commented on the show and revealed that the presidential couple didn't know about the project. Talking specifically to AFP news agency, the source said:

We are not associated with this project which we learnt about today in the press.

A series not unlike another, currently available on video on demand on Apple TV: The First Lady. Directed by Susanne Bier and featuring a Hollywood cast - Gillian Anderson, Michelle Pfeiffer and Viola Davis - the ten-episode series features three great first ladies of the United States in a complex montage that constantly transports viewers from one era to another in order to draw parallels between the three women - Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford and Michelle Obama respectively - but also to recount the lives of the characters before they came to power - through numerous flashbacks.

This article has been translated from Voici and Télé-Loisirs.

Read more:

⋙ Brigitte Macron: The French First Lady's evolution, from her early days to today

⋙ Brigitte Macron: The First Lady's personal fortune is much higher than the President's

⋙ Emmanuel Macron's mother talks about her mature daughter-in-law Brigitte Macron

Sources used:

Daily Mail: Brigitte Macron's 'fairytale journey' from school teacher to France's First Lady to be told in TV drama series

Interview: Rihanna Is Ready to Confess

BBC News: Brigitte Macron: French president's wife to be subject of new TV drama