As the ad on the website for the cosmetics brand “Beauty and Truth” claimed to have invented “an anti-wrinkle solution that could change the skin treatment industry forever,” having used the face of Brigitte Macron to attract more consumers and promote the “revolutionary” lotion, the first lady ordered her lawyers to file a lawsuit against the con men.
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The website claimed that the 65-year-old Mrs. Macron had a share in the company, and couldn’t disclose the information due to political reasons – but, in fact, the French president’s wife has nothing to do with it.
Such campaigns, associating Mrs. Macron with the product couldn’t help but make people swallow the bait, with one of the victims spending 3.95 euros to receive a free sample and then realizing that she would be charged an additional 88 euros for the product.
“It said that Mrs. Macron was associated with the company and that Mrs. Obama and Bruni [Carla Bruni, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s wife] are good customers. I thought it was serious,” a duped customer told le Parisien.
The first lady was reported to be “really annoyed” by the unauthorized use of her image and name, and ordered her attorneys to contact the company and remove all fake articles with any reference to her.
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This is not the first time that Brigitte Macron’s name has been used in relation to a fraudulent scheme. In March, she took legal action after scammers attempted to steal her identity to get into the finest restaurants and attend VIP events around the world. The fraudsters used the email address cabinet@presidence.fr, pretending to be someone from her office to request tables, tickets or VIP treatment. Presidence.fr appears to have no connection with the official website of President Macron, Elysee.fr.
