A Paris court has convicted 10 individuals of cyberbullying Brigitte Macron, France’s first lady, for circulating false online allegations about her gender and sexuality, including claims that she was born male. The court handed down various sentences, including a six-month prison term for one defendant and suspended sentences ranging from four to eight months for the others. All 10 were also mandated to undergo cyberbullying awareness training as part of their sentencing.
The court highlighted the “particularly degrading, insulting, and malicious” nature of the comments made, which included false claims insinuating that Brigitte Macron was transgender and a pedophile. The court emphasized that the repeated dissemination of such content had harmful cumulative effects.
The defendants, consisting of eight men and two women aged between 41 and 65, were accused of posting numerous false comments alleging that President Emmanuel Macron’s wife was born male and drawing comparisons between their 24-year age gap and pedophilia. Some of these posts garnered tens of thousands of views.
Brigitte Macron did not attend the two-day trial in October. However, she expressed on national television that she pursued legal action to set a precedent in combating harassment. Her lawyer, Jean Ennochi, underscored the importance of immediate cyberbullying awareness training for the defendants and, for some, restrictions on their social media usage.
The impact of the cyberbullying was not limited to Brigitte Macron alone, as her daughter, Tiphaine Auzière, testified about the adverse effects on her mother’s life and the wider family, including Macron’s grandchildren. The court sentenced one defendant, a property asset manager, to six months of home confinement, while another defendant, Delphine Jegousse, received a six-month prison term for her significant role in spreading the rumors through a YouTube video.
Aurelien Poirson-Atlan, known as Zoe Sagan on social media, and a gallery owner were given eight-month prison sentences. The defendants who did not receive prison terms were also ordered to attend cyberbullying awareness training, with some facing social media access suspensions and collectively owing 10,000 euros in compensation to Brigitte Macron for moral damage.
During the trial, some defendants argued that their comments were meant as humor or satire and expressed confusion over the legal proceedings. This case follows a series of unfounded conspiracy theories alleging that Brigitte Macron was born under a different name, Jean-Michel Trogneux, which is actually her brother’s name. The Macrons have also pursued legal action in the United States against conservative influencer Candace Owens for defamation.
Brigitte Macron, 72, and Emmanuel Macron, 48, have been married since 2007. Macron has been serving as France’s president since 2017, with the couple having first met when he was a student and she was a teacher at their high school.