Brigitte Macron: The court found 10 guilty of online harassment of the first lady of France – National

On Monday, a Paris court found 10 people guilty of cyberbullying France’s first lady, Brigitte Macron, for spreading false claims online about her gender and sexuality, including allegations that she was born a man.

One defendant was sentenced to six months in prison, while eight were given suspended sentences of between four and eight months. All 10 were mandated to attend cyberbullying awareness training.

The court identified “particularly defamatory, defamatory, and insulting” in reference to the false claims in relation to the alleged identity and the alleged pedo crime directed at Brigitte Macron. “The repeated letters have had more damaging effects,” the court said.

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Macrons lawsuit against Candace Owens regarding her repeated allegations Brigitte was born a man

The defendants, eight men and two women aged 41 to 65, are accused of writing several statements falsely claiming that the wife of President Emmanuel Macron was born a man and likening their 24-year age gap 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 TF1 national television on Sunday, he said he started legal action to “set an example” in the fight against torture.

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His lawyer, Jean Ennochi, said on Monday, “what is important is that there is an urgent awareness training on cyberbullying, and for some of the defendants, their social media accounts have been blocked.”

Her daughter, Tiphaine Auzière, testified about what she described as the “deterioration” of her mother’s life since the online abuse escalated. “He cannot ignore the bad things that have been said about him,” Auzière told the court. He said the impact has spread to the entire family, including Macron’s grandchildren.

One of the defendants, a property manager, received a six-month sentence. Under French law, the sentence can be served at home, perhaps while wearing an ankle brace or following other requirements set by the judge.

Defendant Delphine Jegousse, 51, known as Amandine Roy and who describes herself as a communicator and writer, is considered to have played a major role in spreading rumors after she released a four-hour video on her YouTube channel in 2021. He was sentenced to 6 months in prison.

The X account of Aurélien Poirson-Atlan, 41, known as Zoé Sagan on social media, was suspended in 2024 after her name was revealed in a legal investigation. Poirson-Atlan was sentenced to 8 months in prison, along with another defendant, the owner of the gallery.

The only defendant who was not sentenced to prison was a teacher, who apologized during the trial. He will have to attend cyberbullying awareness training.

Several will see their internet access suspended for six months on the social media where they posted.

The sentences were in line with the seriousness of the speeches, the court emphasized.

French judicial authorities have not released the names of the accused, but some have publicly revealed their names by speaking out.

During the trial, many defendants told the court that their comments were meant to be funny or sarcastic and said they did not understand why they were being prosecuted.

The case follows years of conspiracy theories falsely claiming that Brigitte Macron was born under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux, which is her brother’s name. The Macrons have also filed a defamation suit in the United States against Conservative activist Candace Owens.

The Macrons, who have been married since 2007, first met at the high school where she was a student and a teacher. Brigitte Macron, 24 years older than her husband, was then called Brigitte Auzière, a married mother of three children.

Emmanuel Macron, 48, has been the president of France since 2017.

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