A Paris judicial court delivered a significant verdict on Monday, convicting ten individuals for orchestrating a coordinated online harassment campaign against France’s First Lady Brigitte Macron. The defendants—eight men and two women—were found guilty of disseminating malicious falsehoods regarding Mrs. Macron’s gender identity and sexuality, marking a pivotal moment in the French legal system’s approach to digital abuse targeting public figures.
The court determined that the perpetrators had systematically propagated the baseless claim that Brigitte Macron is a transgender woman, fraudulently asserting she was born under the male identity of Jean-Michel Trogneux—a name which actually belongs to her elder brother. This malicious narrative, which has circulated in certain online circles for several years, represents a particularly invasive form of character assassination.
Further compounding their offenses, the convicted individuals drew grotesque parallels between the Macrons’ 24-year age difference and criminal behavior, including unjustified associations with pedophilia. Such vitriolic commentary had been persistently ignored by the presidential couple until recently, when they adopted a more assertive legal stance against defamatory content.
Sentencing ranged up to eight months imprisonment, though all terms were suspended, reflecting the court’s balanced approach between condemnation and rehabilitation. This ruling arrives concurrently with the Macrons’ pursuit of a high-profile defamation lawsuit in the United States against right-wing commentator Candace Owens, who has promulgated similar false claims, signaling a coordinated international legal strategy against gender-based cyber harassment.
The case establishes a robust legal precedent in France’s ongoing battle against digital misinformation and targeted online abuse, particularly concerning the protection of individuals’ gender identity and personal dignity from malicious fabrication.