Source: BBC
A Paris court has convicted ten people of online harassment targeting Brigitte Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, after they circulated false and abusive claims about her identity and personal life.
The group, made up of eight men and two women, was found to have deliberately posted insulting and degrading content on social media, including conspiracy theories about her gender and sexuality, as well as hostile commentary about the age difference between her and the president. The court ruled that their actions showed a clear intent to cause harm.
Most of those convicted received suspended prison sentences of up to eight months, along with penalties such as mandatory prevention courses and temporary suspensions of their social media accounts. One defendant was taken into custody immediately after failing to appear in court.
Some of the harassment echoed earlier claims made by internet personalities Natacha Rey and Amandine Roy, who had previously alleged that Brigitte Macron did not exist and was in fact the president’s brother living under a different identity. Although they were initially convicted of slander in 2024, an appeals court later overturned those verdicts, arguing that alleging a gender transition did not automatically constitute an attack on someone’s honour. The Macrons have since appealed that decision to France’s highest court.
According to Brigitte Macron’s lawyer, Jean Ennochi, the most meaningful outcome of the ruling lies in measures aimed at preventing repeat offences, particularly education programs and account suspensions. During the trial, her daughter Tiphaine Auzière testified that the sustained online abuse had affected her mother’s health, daily life, and even her grandchildren, who faced teasing at school. She described how Brigitte Macron had become constantly aware of how her appearance and behaviour might be weaponised by conspiracy theorists.
The French verdict comes as the presidential couple prepare for a much larger legal battle in the United States. They have filed a defamation lawsuit against American right-wing commentator Candace Owens, who has repeatedly promoted similar conspiracy theories about the first lady on her podcast and social media, despite what the Macrons say is overwhelming evidence disproving them.
For years, advisers had urged the Macrons to ignore such rumours to avoid giving them greater visibility. However, as the volume and reach of the attacks grew, they decided to pursue legal action, even if it meant exposing aspects of their private lives in court.
Claims questioning Brigitte Macron’s gender have circulated online since Emmanuel Macron first became president in 2017. She met him when she was his teacher at secondary school, and the couple married in 2007, when he was 29 and she was in her mid-50s.
With information from BBC.
