A Parisian court has delivered its verdict in a high-profile cyber-bullying trial targeting France’s First Lady, Brigitte Macron. On Monday, ten individuals faced sentencing for their roles in orchestrating a malicious online campaign that spread defamatory falsehoods about Madame Macron’s gender identity and made insinuations regarding the age difference between the presidential couple.
The court’s presiding judge, Thierry Donard, characterized the accusations—which included baseless claims of ‘alleged paedophilia’—as ‘malicious, degrading and insulting.’ The sentences were handed down for the intentional infliction of harm upon the complainant. In a decisive legal response, eight defendants received suspended prison terms ranging from four to eight months. A ninth individual was sentenced to six months of immediate incarceration due to his absence from the proceedings. All ten convicted were additionally mandated to complete a compulsory educational course focused on combating online hate speech.
The long-standing relationship between President Emmanuel Macron, 48, and Brigitte Macron, 72—who first met when she was his drama teacher—has been a subject of public fascination since his 2017 election. This scrutiny has increasingly manifested as coordinated disinformation campaigns. The Macrons have adopted a zero-tolerance legal strategy against such defamation, opting to confront falsehoods directly through the judicial system rather than ignore them.
This case is part of a broader, transatlantic legal offensive. The French President and First Lady have also initiated a defamation lawsuit in the United States against right-wing commentator Candace Owens for perpetuating the same false narrative. These conspiracy theories, which emerged around the time of Macron’s initial election, have been extensively amplified by far-right groups and conspiracy theorists in both France and the U.S., where transgender rights remain a fiercely contested cultural issue.