10 people found guilty of cyberbullying France’s Brigitte Macron over false gender, sexuality claims

A Paris court finds 10 people guilty of cyberbullying France’s first lady Brigitte Macron by spreading false online claims about her gender and sexuality, including allegations she was born a man.

The court convicts all defendants to sentences ranging from a cyberbullying awareness training to eight-month suspended prison sentences.

The court points to “particularly degrading, insulting, and malicious” comments referring to false claims regarding alleged trans identity and alleged pedophilic criminality targeting Brigitte Macron.

The defendants, eight men and two women aged 41 to 65, are accused of having posted “numerous malicious comments” falsely claiming that President Emmanuel Macron’s wife was born a man and linking their 24-year age gap to pedophilia. Some of the posts were viewed tens of thousands of times.

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” in the fight against harassment.

The case follows years of conspiracy theories falsely alleging that 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, 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.