Jean-Alexandre Trogneux says Emmanuel Macron’s years in power hurt him personally and professionally, and he is counting the days until the next presidential election in May 2027. In a rare appearance on the podcast À contre-jour, the nephew of Brigitte Macron said the family name that once belonged mainly to a famous Amiens chocolate shop became a burden after 2017.
“C’est sûr, cela a entaché notre nom,” Trogneux said. He said the change was immediate. “Là, on prend un vrai choc.” In spring 2017, he said customers began asking him to make parking tickets disappear or help them avoid tax audits, a sign that the Macrons’ rise to national prominence had already spilled into his own business.
Trogneux said he first understood how visible the family had become when he saw satellite trucks outside his shop in Amiens. “C’est là que le regard des gens change dans un temps un peu curieux d’abord, respectueux, puis critique,” he said. “Malheureusement la critique est venue très très rapidement.” What began as curiosity, he said, turned into resentment for some people and then into outright hatred.
That hostility, he said, did not stay abstract. During the Gilets jaunes movement, Trogneux shops were vandalized and saleswomen were insulted, with some eventually resigning. He said he also received anonymous letters, including one with the word “Boum,” and a gift package containing excrement with the message, “Voilà le nouveau Macron au chocolat.” He said the blowback extended to business as well, costing the family many works-council orders because union officials did not want to be seen pleasing the president.
The pain sharpened again on May 15, 2023, when Jean-Baptiste Trogneux, his son and the heir to the family business, was beaten by five individuals. Trogneux said, “Il a été sauvé par un voisin très courageux.” He added that the attack was meant to “casser du Macron,” and said the moment was devastating because it came at his own child: “ce moment-là, j’en ai terriblement souffert, parce qu’on ne peut pas imaginer qu’on s’en prenne au sang de son sang simplement parce qu’on porte le même nom.”
The family’s visibility has long been tied to the Amiens shop and to the political shadow cast by Emmanuel Macron’s presidency. Jean-Alexandre Trogneux said the exposure changed the household as well as the business; his daughter decided in 2017 to leave France and live abroad. Now installed at Le Touquet, he says he remains eager for May 2027, when the presidency that once made his family famous and vulnerable comes back before voters again.