Ten individuals who unfold false claims France’s First Lady Brigitte Macron was born a person are discovered responsible of cyberbullying in Paris
Ten people who spread ‘malicious’ claims France‘s first lady Brigitte Macron was born a man have been found guilty of cyberbullying.
A Paris court handed the defendants suspended prison sentences of up to eight months for the ‘particularly degrading, insulting and malicious’ comments.
Eight men and two women aged 41 to 65, were accused of posting ‘numerous’ false claims that President Emmanuel Macron‘s wife was born a man and linking their 24-year age gap to pedophilia.
Brigitte Macron did not attend the two-day trial in October.
Speaking on TF1 national television yesterday, she said she launched legal proceedings to ‘set an example’ against harassment – after some of the posts were viewed tens of thousands of times.
Her daughter, Tiphaine Auzière, testified about what she described as the ‘deterioration’ of her mother’s life since the online harassment intensified.
‘She cannot ignore the horrible things said about her,’ Ms Auzière told the court.
Ms Auzière said the impact has extended to the entire family, including Macron’s grandchildren.
Ten people who spread claims France’s first lady Brigitte Macronwas born a man have been found guilty of cyberbullying
Mr and Mrs Macron, who have been married since 2007, first met at the high school where he was a student and she was a teacher. The couple are pictured at the Elysee Palace in Paris, last month
Defendant Delphine Jegousse, 51, who is known as Amandine Roy and describes herself as a medium and an author, is considered to have played a major role in spreading the rumor after she released a four-hour video on her YouTube channel in 2021.
She was given a six-month prison sentence.
The X account of Aurélien Poirson-Atlan, 41, known as Zoé Sagan on social media, was suspended in 2024 after his name was cited in several judicial investigations.
Poirson-Atlan was given an eight-month suspended prison sentence.
Other defendants included an elected official, a teacher and a computer scientist.
Several told the court their comments were intended as humor or satire and said they did not understand why they were being prosecuted.
The case follows years of conspiracy theories alleging Brigitte Macron was born under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux, which is actually the name of her brother.
The Macrons have also filed a defamation suit in the United States against conservative influencer Candace Owens.
The Macrons have also filed a defamation suit in the United States against conservative influencer Candace Owens (pictured)
Mr and Mrs Macron, who have been married since 2007, first met at the high school where he was a student and she was a teacher.
Brigitte Macron, 24 years her husband’s senior, was then called Brigitte Auzière, a married mother of three.
Emmanuel Macron, 48, has been France’s president since 2017.
In November, Candace Owens claimed the French government was plotting to kill her after the Macrons announced their defamation case.
The provocateur took to X to push the claim that the French president and first lady had orchestrated and funded an assassination plot against her – while also supposedly threatening French journalist Xavier Poussard.
Owens, 36, and Poussard have been loudly promoting the conspiracy theory that MS Macron, 72, was born male.
Owens claimed to have been told of the couple’s plans by a ‘high-ranking employee of the French Government.’
She declined to name who this person was or how they would have access to such information.
‘After determining this person’s position and proximity to the French couple, I have deemed the information they gave me to be credible enough to share publicly in the event that something happens,’ the mother-of-four said.
She claimed the French official had ‘concrete proof’ of the assassination plans, though refused to let her followers in on the evidence.
