Ten individuals are appearing before a Paris criminal court this week, accused of sexist cyberbullying directed at Brigitte Macron, wife of France President Emmanuel Macron.
The defendants, eight men and two women, aged between 41 and 60, stand charged with spreading now‐discredited claims that Mrs. Macron was born male, alongside malicious remarks focusing on her gender, sexuality and the 24-year age gap between the couple.
If convicted, the group could face up to two years’ imprisonment.
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According to prosecutors, the group is alleged to have circulated “numerous malicious comments” targeting Mrs. Macron’s gender and sexuality, and equating her age difference with the President to paedophilia.
The case traces its roots to an August 2024 complaint by Mrs. Macron, which triggered investigations and arrests at the end of 2024 and early 2025.
Among the defendants are a gallery owner, an elected official, a teacher, as well as two women—identified in French media as independent journalist Natacha Rey and internet fortune-teller Amandine Roy—who were previously convicted of slander for making gender‐related claims about Mrs. Macron, though an appeals court later overturned that conviction.
In July 2025, an appeals court in Paris ruled that the prior convictions against Rey and Roy did not meet the legal definition of defamation, prompting Mrs. Macron and her brother to bring the case to France’s highest court, the Cour de Cassation.
Separately, the presidential couple filed a defamation lawsuit in the U.S. against American influencer Candace Owens. They accuse her of amplifying the same gender-related conspiracy theories—namely the false claim that Mrs. Macron was born male under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux.
In a wider comment, President Macron said the legal action abroad was about “defending my honour” and responding to a campaign of false information “with the aim of causing harm… in the service of an ideology”.
The trial is scheduled over two days. While the public sessions began Monday, the court has yet to announce when a verdict will be delivered. If proven guilty, the defendants face sentences of up to two years behind bars.
Meanwhile, the First Lady’s legal team continues to pursue the appeals in France, and the U.S. litigation remains underway. The outcome could set precedents for how online harassment of public figures is handled.
