A Paris court has recently convicted ten individuals for cyberbullying Brigitte Macron, France’s first lady, by disseminating false and malicious information regarding her gender and sexuality. Allegations included claims that she was born a man, which the court characterized as “particularly degrading” and malicious.
Sentences for the defendants, comprising eight men and two women aged between 41 and 65, varied from cyberbullying awareness training to suspended prison terms of up to eight months. The court emphasized the severity of the defendants’ actions, which included posting numerous harmful comments that gained tens of thousands of views, linking Macron’s age difference with her husband to inappropriate and unfounded claims of pedophilia.
Brigitte Macron did not attend the trial held over two days in October. In a statement on TF1 national television, she expressed her determination to take legal action to “set an example” against harassment. Her daughter, Tiphaine Auzière, shared personal insights into the distress caused to their family, articulating that the online abuse had affected their lives significantly, including that of Macron’s grandchildren.
Among the defendants, Delphine Jegousse, a 51-year-old known as Amandine Roy, played a key role in spreading these falsehoods after posting a four-hour video on her YouTube channel in 2021, for which she received a six-month prison sentence. Another defendant, Aurélien Poirson-Atlan, acknowledged that his account was suspended in 2024 amid legal investigations and was handed an eight-month sentence.
The case is part of a broader issue, as Brigitte Macron has faced years of conspiracy theories, notably the false claim she was born Jean-Michel Trogneux, a name that belongs to her brother. The Macron family has also pursued defamation claims in the U.S. against certain figures in media.
Brigitte and Emmanuel Macron, who married in 2007, have navigated public life together since their initial meeting at a high school, where she was his teacher. Emmanuel Macron has served as president of France since 2017, highlighting the couple’s enduring partnership despite the challenges posed by unfounded allegations and the scrutiny that accompanies their status.