Paris court to try ten over sexist online attacks on Brigitte Macron

Ten individuals accused of cyberbullying France’s First Lady, Brigitte Macron, are set to face trial this week in Paris.

The defendants allegedly spread false claims about Brigitte Macron’s gender and sexuality, and made “malicious remarks” targeting the 24-year age difference between her and President Emmanuel Macron. If convicted, they could face up to two years in prison, as per the latest report by the BBC.

Among those appearing in court on October 27-28 are a local elected official, a gallery owner, and a teacher.

Two of the defendants, self-described independent journalist Natacha Rey and online fortune-teller Amandine Roy, were previously found guilty of slander last year for claiming that Brigitte Macron never existed and that her brother, Jean-Michel Trogneux, had changed gender and assumed her identity. An appeals court later acquitted them, ruling their statements did not constitute defamation. Brigitte Macron and her brother are appealing that decision.

Since Emmanuel Macron’s first election in 2017, a conspiracy theory falsely claiming that Brigitte Macron is transgender has circulated widely, particularly in the United States. Right-wing influencer Candace Owens has been a prominent promoter of these claims. Last July, the Macrons filed a lawsuit against Owens, alleging she ignored credible evidence disproving the theory while amplifying known conspiracy theorists and defamers.

Tom Clare, the Macrons’ lawyer, told the BBC podcast Fame Under Fire that Brigitte Macron found the claims “incredibly upsetting” and that they were a “distraction” to the president. Emmanuel Macron described the legal action against Owens as a defence of his family’s honour, stating that the influencer spread false information “to cause harm in the service of an ideology” and with ties to far-right figures.

Brigitte Macron first met Emmanuel Macron when she was his teacher in secondary school. The couple married in 2007, when he was 29 and she was 54.

By Tamilla Hasanova