Ten people, eight men and two women aged 41 to 60, appeared today in the dock of the Paris Criminal Court, accused of sexist cyberbullying against Brigitte Macron. The case concerns a false and unsubstantiated rumor that has been circulating for years on social media and in far-right circles, claiming that President Emmanuel Macron’s wife was allegedly “born male.” The rumor, which began in 2017 and was reignited through conspiracy theory pages in France and the US, led the presidential couple to take legal action in both France and the United States. In July, the Macrons filed a defamation lawsuit in the US against conservative commentator Candace Owens, who in her series titled “Becoming Brigitte” claimed that the First Lady “was a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux,” which is the name of her brother. The same rumor was also reproduced by French “medium” Delphine Z., who had uploaded a lengthy YouTube interview with journalist Natacha Rey, repeating the same false claims. The two women were initially sentenced to pay damages in 2024, however their sentence was overturned on appeal and the case is pending before France’s Supreme Court.
According to the indictment, the ten defendants are accused of repeated abusive and sexist posts that targeted Brigitte Macron for her gender and sexuality, even going so far as to characterize the age difference with the president as “similar to pedophilia.” If found guilty, they face up to two years in prison.
Among them is advertiser Aurélien Poirson-Atlan, known on social media by the pseudonym “Zoe Sagan,” a figure linked to conspiracy theories.
Brigitte Macron: Had Filed Official Complaint for Online Harassment in August 2024
Brigitte Macron had filed an official complaint for online harassment in August 2024, leading to today’s trial following an investigation that resulted in arrests last winter.
The false claims about the French First Lady’s gender are part of a broader wave of disinformation and gender-based targeting that has affected women politicians internationally, from Michelle Obama and Kamala Harris to former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
The trial, which began today, is considered a test for French justice regarding the limits of freedom of speech and legal protection of public figures against gender-based disinformation on the internet.
