Judges sitting at the Paris Appeal Court on Thursday ruled that Amandine Roy, a 53-year-old clairvoyant, and Natacha Rey, 49 and a blogger, had every legal right to make the sulphurous allegations.

Both had claimed they were subjected to 'intimidation by the authorities' as 'ultra protected' members of the Paris establishment tried to cover up a 'state secret'.

Lawyers for Ms Macron, 72, in turn indicated that she was 'devastated' by the development, and would be taking the case to France's Cassation Court.

Ms Macron is currently returning from a State Visit to Britain with her husband, President Emmanuel Macron, so was not in court to hear today's judgement.

Ms Roy and Ms Rey had had appeared on a four-hour YouTube video in December 2021 in which they claimed that Brigitte was in fact born as a baby boy called Jean-Michel Trogneux in 1953.

This is in fact the name of Brigitte's brother, and Ms Macron was called Brigitte Trogneux before her first marriage.

The defendants also claimed that Brigitte's first husband, André-Louis Auzière, had never actually existed before his reported death in 2020, aged 68.

A judge sitting at Lisieux, in Normandy, originally fined the two women the equivalent of £1700 each, after finding them both guilty of libel.

Following earlier appeals, Roy's fine was reduced to £850, while Rey had £1300 of her £1700 fine suspended, meaning she had to pay just £400.

Now, neither will have to pay anything, and they will be able to repeat the allegations against Ms Macron.

Maud Marian, defence barrister for Roy, said: 'We're acquitted!', while François Danglehant, for Rey, also expressed great pleasure at the judgement.

The two women, who were not present when the judgment was announced, were sued for defamation by Ms Macron in January 2022.

Today's court ruling states that the 18 passages of the video under consideration 'do not constitute defamation', and instead represent 'good faith' free speech.

It comes as Ms Macron finds herself increasingly under attack, not just in France, but across the world.