Virginie Tellenne (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Merle; born September 25, 1962) better known by her alias Frigide Barjot, is a French

humorist A humorist is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking. A raconteur is one who tells anecdotes in a skillful and amusing way. Henri Bergson writes that a humorist's work grows from viewing the morals of society ...

, columnist and political activist. A former

socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...

of the Parisian nightlife, who organized events defending the

Catholic faith The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international instituti ...

in the 2000s, Barjot rose to prominence in the early 2010s in France as a vocal campaigner against same-sex marriage and

LGBT adoption Same-sex adoption is the adoption of children or adults by Same-sex relationship, same-sex couples. It may take the form of a joint adoption by the couple, or of the adoption by one partner of the other's biological child or adult (stepchild ad ...

Biography

Born into a family from

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, Virginie Merle studied the law at

Jean Moulin University Lyon 3 The Jean Moulin University Lyon 3 (), also referred to as Lyon 3, is one of the three public universities of Lyon, France. It is named after the French Resistance fighter Jean Moulin and specialises in Law, Politics, Philosophy, Management and l ...

and

Sciences Po Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

before joining the public relations office of the French

Gaullist Gaullism ( ) is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic. De Gaulle withdrew French forces from t ...

political party

Rally for the Republic The Rally for the Republic ( ; RPR ) was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaul ...

(RPR).France debates gay marriage
Nytimes.com As a young woman, Barjot was a figure of the Parisian nightlife, and would regularly attend

gay club A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+) clientele; the term '' gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBTQ+ communities. Gay bars on ...

s; she has described herself as a "

fag hag A ''fag hag'' is, in gay slang, a woman who associates either mostly or exclusively with gay and bisexuality, bisexual men. The phrase originated in gay male culture in the United States and was historically an insult. Some women who associate ...

" (''fille à pédés'' in French). In the 1980s, Barjot met Bruno Tellenne, also known as Basile de Koch, a

speechwriter A speechwriter is a person who is hired to prepare and write speeches to be delivered by another person. Speechwriters are employed by many senior-level elected officials and executives in the government and private sectors. They can also be em ...

and the founder of comedy group Jalons; the group styled itself as a "cultural intervention group", which specialized in

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

and

subvertising Subvertising (a portmanteau of ''subversion (political), subvert'' and ''advertising'') is the practice of making spoofs or parody, parodies of corporation, corporate and politics, political advertising, advertisements. The cultural critic Mark ...

campaigns. She later became herself a member of Jalons, adopting the alias "Frigide Barjot", and gradually became a prominent member within the group. In the 1990s, Barjot was a regular guest on some French talk shows such as ''On a tout essayé''.. In 2004, Barjot claimed to have had a mystical experience during a trip to

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for its Château fort, a ...

which reportedly renewed her Roman Catholic faith. She became gradually more vocal about her religion, presenting herself as "

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

's press attaché" and organizing events defending Christianity, especially then-

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

. In 2012, as the French government announced their

proposal Proposal(s) or The Proposal may refer to: * Proposal (business) * Research proposal * Marriage proposal * Proposition, a proposal in logic and philosophy Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Proposal'' (album), an album by Ransom & Statik Sel ...

to make same-sex marriage legal in France, Barjot was one of activists who organized demonstrations in Paris to oppose the project. She became a spokeswoman for ''

La Manif pour Tous The (), better known under its original name of (LMPT), is a nonprofit organization and political movement based in France which is responsible for most of the Anti-gender movement, anti-gender and LGBTQ rights opposition, anti-LGBTQ demonst ...

'', an umbrella organization campaigning against same-sex marriage and LGBT adoption.

Personal life

In 1994, Barjot married humorist Basile de Koch (born Bruno Tellenne), founder of comedy group Jalons of which Barjot was a member. As of 2013, they have two children.

Filmography

*''Trois zéros'' (2002) – as Brigitte *''People'' (2004) – as a jet setter *''Turf'' (2013) – as a guest

Bibliography

* ''J'élève mon mari'', Éditions Jean-Claude Lattès, 2001, * ''J'éduque mes parents'' (co-authored with Basile de Koch), Éditions Jean-Claude Lattès, 2004 * ''Manuel de survie de la femme moderne'' * ''Le manifeste foutiste : traité de sagesse à l'usage des petits et des glands'' (co-authored with Basile de Koch), Éditions Jean-Claude Lattès, 2000 * ''Confessions d'une catho branchée'', Éditions Plon, 2011 * ''Touche pas à mon sexe, contre le « mariage » gay'', Éditions Mordicus, 2013,

References

Notes

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barjot, Frigide 1962 births Living people Activists from Boulogne-Billancourt French anti-same-sex-marriage activists 20th-century French comedians French humorists Populism in France French activists French women activists Sciences Po alumni French women comedians French women humorists French Roman Catholics Comedians from Île-de-France French women columnists French humorous columnists