A Paris court has convicted ten individuals for cyberbullying Brigitte Macron, the first lady of France, through the dissemination of false information regarding her gender and sexuality. The court’s decision, delivered on Monday, included a range of sentences from mandatory cyberbullying awareness training to suspended prison terms of up to eight months. The defendants were found guilty of making “particularly degrading, insulting, and malicious” statements, which included false claims about her alleged trans identity and unfounded accusations of pedophilia.
The group, comprising eight men and two women aged between 41 and 65, was accused of spreading numerous harmful comments online. These included false assertions that President Emmanuel Macron‘s wife was born a man, along with attempts to link their 24-year age difference to inappropriate conduct. Some of the posts received tens of thousands of views, amplifying the harassment directed at Brigitte Macron.
Brigitte Macron did not attend the two-day trial held in October. In a recent interview with TF1, she explained that she initiated legal proceedings to “set an example” in combating online harassment. Her daughter, Tiphaine Auzière, provided testimony about the profound impact of this harassment on her mother’s life, describing a significant deterioration in her well-being. Auzière stated, “She cannot ignore the horrible things said about her,” emphasizing that the effects of the online abuse have extended to the entire family, including Macron’s grandchildren.
One notable defendant, Delphine Jegousse, 51, who is also known as Amandine Roy and claims to be a medium and author, played a significant role in disseminating the rumors. She published a four-hour video on her YouTube channel in 2021 that contributed to the spread of false information. Another defendant, Aurélien Poirson-Atlan, 41, whose social media account was suspended in 2024, was implicated in several judicial investigations related to the case.
The defendants included a range of professions, such as an elected official, a teacher, and a computer scientist. Several of them argued in court that their comments were intended as humor or satire, expressing confusion about the legal action taken against them.
This case follows years of conspiracy theories falsely suggesting that Brigitte Macron was born under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux, which is actually the name of her brother. The Macrons have also pursued a defamation lawsuit in the United States against conservative influencer Candace Owens.
Brigitte Macron, now 70, first met her husband at the high school where he was a student, while she was a teacher. Their relationship, which began when she was a married mother of three, has often been the subject of public scrutiny due to their 24-year age difference. Emmanuel Macron, 48, has served as France’s president since 2017, and the couple has been married since 2007.
