A Paris court has found ten individuals guilty of cyber-bullying Brigitte Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron. The defendants were convicted for spreading malicious falsehoods concerning her gender and sexuality, alongside making derogatory comments about the couple's age difference.
The court handed down suspended prison sentences of up to eight months for most of the eight men and two women convicted. One defendant received an immediate jail term for failing to attend court, while others had their social media accounts suspended. The presiding judge stated the group had acted with a clear intent to harm the first lady, posting degrading and insulting remarks online.
Brigitte Macron's lawyer, Jean Ennochi, emphasised after the verdict that the significant outcomes were the preventative courses mandated for the perpetrators and the suspension of their accounts. The impact of the harassment was detailed during the trial by the first lady's daughter, Tiphaine Auzière, who testified that the persistent online abuse had adversely affected her mother's health and daily life, extending to her grandchildren being taunted at school.
This case follows a separate, high-profile legal action involving two other defendants, Natacha Rey and Amandine Roy. They were initially found guilty of slander in 2024 for promoting the baseless claim that Brigitte Macron does not exist and is instead a transgender version of her brother. That conviction was later overturned on appeal, with the court ruling that alleging a gender transition did not necessarily constitute an attack on a person's honour. The Macrons are now appealing that decision to a higher court.
The conspiracy theory targeting the first lady has circulated online since President Macron's initial election in 2017. The couple, who met when Brigitte was a teacher at his school, married in 2007.
Monday's ruling precedes a major defamation lawsuit filed by the Macrons in the United States against right-wing commentator Candace Owens, who has repeatedly amplified similar false claims about Brigitte Macron's gender. The presidential couple, who initially sought to ignore online gossip, decided last year to legally challenge the conspiracy theorists due to the escalating scale of the attacks.
