Ten people have been found guilty of cyber bullying over false claims that Brigitte Macron was secretly transgender and guilty of paedophilia.
Eight men and two women, aged between 41 and 60, received suspended prison sentences of up to eight months at a Paris criminal court on Monday.
They were found to have spread what prosecutors described as “numerous malicious comments” regarding the French first lady’s gender, sexuality and the age gap with her husband, Emmanuel Macron, linking their 24-year age gap to paedophilia. She is 72 and he is 48.
Judges ruled the sustained online attacks amounted to cyber bullying after prosecutors insisted these had led to “a deterioration of her physical and mental health”.
The First Lady did not attend the two-day trial in the French capital, which took place in October.
At the heart of the case was Aurélien Poirson-Atlan, a prolific social media agitator known online as Zoé Sagan, whose posts amassed tens of thousands of views.
During the trial, he continued to denounce what he claimed was a “shocking state secret involving state-sanctioned paedophilia”.
He received the heaviest sentence – eight months. His X account was suspended last year after being cited in multiple judicial investigations.
Another central figure, Delphine Jegousse, 51, who uses the alias Amandine Roy and is a self-described “medium and author”, received a six-month sentence.
Prosecutors said she played a “major role” in spreading the conspiracy after releasing a four-hour YouTube video in 2021. The video framed Mrs Macron’s supposed gender identity as evidence of a state cover-up.
Also convicted was Bertrand Scholler, a Paris art dealer, who posted scathing photomontages – as well as several “followers” including a teacher, a computer scientist, and an elected official. Prosecutors argued they amplified the abuse through relentless repetition.
At the heart of the case lied the false allegation that Mrs Macron was born a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux, the name of her brother.
Mrs Macron filed her complaint in August 2024, after her lawyers said the cyber bullying had reached an intolerable level.
Speaking on television before the verdict, she said: “I fight constantly against harassment. But if I don’t set an example, how can I ask young people to do the same?”
The case has taken on an international dimension.
In America, conservative influencer Candace Owens amplified the claims in a video series titled Becoming Brigitte, watched by millions.
The Macrons have launched a defamation suit in Delaware, seeking “substantial” damages if she continues to repeat the allegations.
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