A Paris court on Monday convicted ten people of cyberbullying France’s First Lady, Brigitte Macron, over false claims regarding her gender and sexuality.
The eight men and two women, aged between their early 40s and mid-60s, were found guilty of posting or sharing what judges described as "particularly degrading and insulting" content online, including assertions that Mrs. Macron was born a man and claims linking the 24-year age gap between her and French President Emmanuel Macron to pedophilia.
The court handed down sentences ranging from mandatory cyberbullying awareness courses and temporary bans from social media platforms to suspended prison terms of up to eight months. One defendant who failed to appear in court received a prison sentence.
According to the ruling, the defendants acted with a clear intent to cause harm. The judge said the online remarks were malicious and went beyond satire or humor, as some defendants had claimed.
Brigitte Macron did not attend the October trial but addressed the case in an interview with TF1 ahead of the verdict, saying she pursued legal action in order to "set an example" in the fight against online harassment.
Her daughter, Tiphaine Auzière, testified that the sustained online abuse had led to a "deterioration" in her mother’s quality of life and health. "She cannot ignore the horrible things said about her," Auzière told the court, adding that the impact had extended to the entire family, including Mrs. Macron’s grandchildren.
The case centered on long-running conspiracy theories falsely claiming that the First Lady was born under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux, which is in fact the name of her brother.
Following the verdict, Mrs. Macron’s lawyer, Jean Ennochi, emphasized the importance of the preventive measures ordered by the court, stating that "what is important is that there are immediate cyberbullying awareness trainings, and for some of the defendants, a ban on using their social media accounts."
The ruling comes as the Macron family also pursues a defamation lawsuit in the United States against conservative influencer Candace Owens, who has publicly repeated similar claims.