A Paris correctional court has found ten individuals guilty of cyber-harassment against France’s First Lady, Brigitte Macron, saying they have spread and relayed false and malicious claims online about her gender identity and personal life.
The verdict, delivered on January 5, follows a high-profile trial that took place on October 27 and 28 2025.
The eight men and two women, aged between 41 and 65, were accused of posting or sharing degrading, insulting, and transphobic content on social media platforms.
This included repeated false assertions that Brigitte Macron — born Brigitte Trogneux — is transgender, and was born male under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux (her brother’s actual name). They also asserted that the 24-year age difference with her husband, President Emmanuel Macron, amounted to “paedocriminality” or state-sanctioned paedophilia.
The court determined the defendants’ actions constituted aggravated moral harassment, with messages that deliberately aimed to harm the complainant.
The judges noted the publications had caused a proven deterioration in Brigitte Macron’s living conditions and affected her physical and mental health.
Evidence presented included viral videos, photomontages (such as one depicting her with a hairy chest), manipulated magazine covers, and numerous tweets using terms such as “Brigitte Macron is a man”, “travesti de merde”, or “pédocriminelle”.
Among the prominent figures convicted were Amandine Roy (real name Delphine Jegousse), a 51-year-old self-described “medium”, who created a widely viewed four-hour YouTube video in 2021, later removed, claiming Brigitte Macron “never existed” and that her brother had transitioned to assume her identity.
Aurélien Poirson-Atlan (known online as Zoé Sagan), a 41-year-old publicist and writer, described the Macrons’ relationship as a “state-sanctioned paedophilia” on her suspended X account.
Bertrand Scholler, a gallerist, created and shared derogatory photomontages.
The sentences handed down include six months’ imprisonment for one defendant, reportedly due to non-attendance at the hearing.
The remaining nine receiving suspended prison terms ranging from four to eight months.
All convicted individuals must complete a mandatory awareness training course on respect for persons in digital spaces to prevent cyber-harassment. They will also pay damages and interest to Brigitte Macron, though the exact amounts of these were not immediately released.
During the October 2025 trial, Brigitte Macron’s lawyers had requested €15,000 in damages.
The trial followed a complaint filed by Brigitte Macron in late August 2024 to the Paris public prosecutor’s office, following years of persistent conspiracy theories amplified by far-right and conspiracist networks in France and, more recently, in the United States.
Brigitte Macron did not attend the hearings but had previously told investigators of the rumour’s severe impact, including on her grandchildren who had heard claims that “their grandmother is a man.”
Her daughter, Tiphaine Auzière, testified during the trial about the constant strain on her mother’s well-being, describing her as “permanently on edge” due to attacks on her identity.
In a television interview on TF1 the day before the verdict, Brigitte Macron explained her decision to pursue the case: “I fight every day to help teenagers combat harassment. But if I don’t set an example, it will be difficult.”
She added firmly: “No one touches my genealogy… you don’t play with that.”
The ruling has been welcomed by Brigitte Macron’s legal team as a strong affirmation that online harassment, even when disguised as “humour” or free speech, carries consequences when it forms part of concerted, malicious campaigns.
It also coincides with ongoing separate legal action by the Macrons in the United States against American influencer Candace Owens for similar defamation.
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte have launched a defamation lawsuit against US podcaster and right-wing political commentator Candace Owens. https://t.co/29GSx4aJx4
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) July 24, 2025
