Paris court convicts 10 over online harassment of Brigitte Macron

“The Daily Baku” reports that, the defendants — eight men and two women aged between 41 and 60 — included a school sports teacher, an art gallery owner and a communications professional. Sentences handed down on Monday ranged from mandatory courses on understanding online harassment to suspended prison terms of up to eight months. One defendant, a property developer who failed to attend court hearings, received a six-month custodial sentence. Several were also barred from using the social media platforms on which the abusive content had appeared.

All were found guilty of spreading or amplifying claims about Brigitte Macron’s gender and sexuality, falsely asserting that she was born a man. In some cases, the posts went further, drawing offensive comparisons between the age gap in the Macrons’ marriage and paedophilia.

The ruling marks the latest chapter in a long-running legal effort by Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron to counter conspiracy theories circulating online in France and abroad. Central to the claims is the false assertion that Brigitte Macron is a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux.

The Macrons have also launched a defamation lawsuit in the United States against conservative podcaster Candace Owens, accusing her of repeatedly promoting the false narrative. Court filings state that Jean-Michel Trogneux is in fact Brigitte Macron’s elder brother, an 80-year-old resident of Amiens, where the family is well known for its chocolate business.

The conspiracy theory gained traction partly because of longstanding online scrutiny of the Macrons’ relationship. Brigitte Macron, who is 24 years older than the president, first met Emmanuel Macron when she was a teacher at his Jesuit secondary school, where she directed him in a theatre production.

In the US lawsuit, the Macrons stress that their relationship developed through intellectual collaboration in the school’s drama programme and remained within legal boundaries at all times. Brigitte Macron, who has three children from a previous marriage, divorced in 2006 and married Emmanuel Macron the following year.

During the Paris trial, Brigitte Macron’s daughter, Tiphaine Auzière, a lawyer, described the toll the false claims had taken on her mother’s mental health and daily life. She told the court that the relentless online abuse had caused a deterioration in her mother’s wellbeing, leaving her anxious about her appearance and posture.

Auzière said the impact extended to the wider family, including Brigitte Macron’s grandchildren, who had been exposed to the rumours. “She didn’t seek public office or attention, yet she is constantly targeted,” she said, adding that she would not wish such a life on anyone.

On the eve of the verdict, Brigitte Macron told French television channel TF1 that she would continue to fight the allegations. She criticised those spreading the claims for ignoring basic evidence, such as her birth certificate, and said she hoped to set an example for young people facing bullying. “If I don’t stand up to this,” she said, “how can I ask teenagers to do the same?”