A Paris court on Monday found 10 people guilty of cyberbullying French first lady Brigitte Macron by spreading false statements online about her gender and sexual orientation, including claims that she was born male.
One defendant was sentenced to six months in prison, and eight received suspended sentences ranging from two to eight months. All 10 were assigned to undergo cyberbullying awareness training.
The court pointed to “particularly derogatory, insulting and malicious” comments relating to false statements regarding alleged trans identity and alleged paedo-crime directed at Brigitte Macron. “The repeated publications had a cumulative harmful effect,” the court said.
Anne-Christine PUZZULA/AFP via Getty Images
The defendants, eight men and two women aged between 41 and 65, were accused of publishing “numerous malicious comments” falsely claiming that President Emmanuel Macron's wife was born a man and linking her 24-year age difference with her husband to pedophilia. Some posts have been viewed tens of thousands of times.
Brigitte Macron did not attend the two-day trial in October. Speaking on national television TF1 on Sunday, she said she was taking legal action to “set an example” in the fight against harassment.
Her lawyer, Jean Ennochi, said on Monday that “it is important that awareness training about cyberbullying is carried out immediately and that some defendants are banned from using their social media accounts.”
Her daughter, Tiphaine Ozier, spoke about what she called the “deterioration” of her mother's life after increased online harassment. “She cannot ignore the terrible things that have been said about her,” Ozier told the court. She said the influence extended to the entire family, including Macron's grandchildren.
One of the defendants, an asset manager, was sentenced to six months in prison. Under French law, the sentence can be served at home, possibly with the use of an ankle monitor or subject to other requirements set by the judge.
Accused Delphine Jegus, 51, known as Amandine Roy and calling herself a medium and author, is believed to have played a major role in spreading the rumors after she released a four-hour video on her YouTube channel in 2021. She was sentenced to 6 months in prison.
The X account of 41-year-old Aurelien Poirson-Atlan, known on social networks as Zoe Sagan, was blocked in 2024 after his name was mentioned in several legal investigations. Poirson-Atlan was sentenced to 8 months in prison along with another defendant, a gallery owner.
The only defendant not sentenced to prison was a teacher who apologized during his trial. He will have to undergo cyberbullying awareness training.
Some of them will have their internet access suspended for six months from the social media sites where they posted their messages.
The sentences were proportionate to the seriousness of the statements, the court emphasized.
French judicial authorities have not released the names of the defendants, but some have made their names public through statements.
During the trial, several defendants told the court their comments were intended as humor or satire and said they did not understand why they were being targeted.
The case follows years of conspiracy theories that falsely claimed that Brigitte Macron was born under the name Jean-Michel Tronier, which is actually her brother's name. Macrons also files a US defamation lawsuit against conservative influencer Candace Owens.
The Macrons, married since 2007, first met in high school, where he attended and she worked as a teacher. Brigitte Macron, who was 24 years older than her husband and then called Brigitte Ozier, was a married mother of three children.
Emmanuel Macron, 48, has been president of France since 2017.
