Paris | A lawyer for France's first couple said they'll be seeking “substantial” damages from US conservative influencer Candace Owens if she persists with claims that President Emmanuel Macron's wife, Brigitte, is a man.

The lawyer, Tom Clare, said in an interview with CNN that a defamation suit filed Wednesday for the Macrons in a Delaware court was “really a last resort” after a fruitless yearlong effort to engage with Owens and requests that she "do the right thing: tell the truth, stop spreading these lies."

“Each time we've done that, she mocked the Macrons, she mocked our efforts to set the record straight," Clare said. "Enough is enough, it was time to hold her accountable."

The complaint against Owens lays out “extensive evidence” that Brigitte Macron "was born a woman, she's always been a woman," he said.

“We'll put forward our damage claim at trial, but if she continues to double down between now and the time of trial, it will be a substantial award," he said.

In Paris, the presidential office had no immediate comment.

The Macrons have been married since 2007, and Emmanuel Macron has been France's president since 2017.

The couple first met at the high school where he was a student and she was a teacher. Brigitte Macron was then Brigitte Auziere, a married mother of three children.

Emmanuel Macron moved to Paris for his last year of high school, but promised to marry Brigitte. She later moved to the French capital to join him and divorced before they finally married.