Paris court convicts ten over cyberbullying of French first lady Brigitte Macron

Ten people have been found guilty by a Paris court of cyber-bullying Brigitte Macron, including a computer scientist, a teacher, and an online fortuneteller, after spreading false claims about her gender and sexuality online.

The defendants – eight men and two women aged between 41 and 60 – were convicted of posting what the court described as “numerous malicious comments” including claims that the French first lady was born a man and allegations linking the 24-year age gap with her husband to paedophilia.

Some of the posts were viewed tens of thousands of times.

Sentences ranged from mandatory cyberbullying awareness training to suspended prison terms of up to eight months.

One defendant was jailed immediately after failing to appear in court, although the full rulings have yet to be published.

Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, did not attend the two-day trial held in October.

Her daughter, Tiphaine Auzière, told the court the harassment had caused a serious deterioration” in her mother’s health and family life, adding that the abuse had affected her entire family, including her grandchildren.

“She cannot ignore the horrible things said about her,” Auzière told the court.

A teacher, a computer scientist, and a self-styled fortune teller

Among those convicted was Delphine Jegousse, 51, a self-styled “internet fortune teller” known online as Amadine Roy, who was found to have played a key role in spreading the rumours after posting a four-hour YouTube video in 2021.

Another defendant, Aurélien Poirson-Atlan, known on social media as Zoé Sagan, had his X account suspended in 2024 after being named in several judicial investigations.

Defendants included an elected official, a teacher, and a computer scientist.

Several told the court their comments were intended as humour or satire and said they did not understand why they were being prosecuted.

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The case follows years of conspiracy theories falsely alleging that Macron was born under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux, which is actually the name of her brother.

The Macrons have also filed a defamation lawsuit in the US against conservative influencer Candace Owens, who has echoed similar claims.

The verdict comes amid growing concern over online abuse targeting women in public life. Research by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and Amnesty International shows women in politics are estimated to be 27 times more likely than men to face online abuse, much of it gendered or sexualized.

Studies have also highlighted the rise of digital abuse involving deep fake imagery. The American Sunlight project found that of more than 35,000 images of politicians analyzed, 26 individuals were exposed to non-consensual intimate imagery, 25 of them women, with one in six US congresswomen affected.

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