Paris
Reuters
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A Paris court on Monday found 10 people guilty of cyber-harassment of France’s first lady, Brigitte Macron, for spreading false claims that she was a transgender woman who was born male.
Brigitte and her husband, French President Emmanuel Macron, have long faced such lies, including allegations that she was born under her brother’s real name, Jean-Michel Trogneux.
The couple’s 24-year age difference has also drawn criticism and vitriol, which they largely ignored over the years but recently began challenging in court.
Monday’s ruling marks a victory for the Macrons, who are pursuing another high-profile defamation case in the United States against right-wing influencer and podcaster Candace Owens, who also claims Brigitte was born male.
Eight men and two women were found guilty of making malicious comments about Brigitte Macron’s gender and sexuality, as well as labeling her age difference with her husband as “pedophilia”.
They received varying sentences. One was sentenced to six months in prison without suspension. Some received suspended prison sentences of up to eight months. The charges also included fines and mandatory cyber harassment awareness courses, and the five were banned from using the social media platforms on which they posted.
Reuters was not immediately able to contact Brigitte Macron’s lawyer or those of those convicted.
The ruling comes amid broader transatlantic tensions over online speech, with the Trump administration labeling European efforts to curb disinformation as censorship. Last month, Washington imposed visa bans on five Europeans fighting hate and lies online, including France’s former EU commissioner Thierry Breton and an anti-disinformation activist.
Some of the defendants in the Macron case argued that their comments amounted to satire, but the defense denied this in court.
Gallerist and author Bertrand Schorer, 55, said he would appeal against his suspended six-month prison sentence.
“This is terrible. This is abhorrent,” he told reporters in court. “This shows how French society is moving towards a decline in freedom of speech. Freedom of speech no longer exists.”
On Sunday night, Brigitte Macron defended her fight against cyberbullying in an interview with TF1 and hoped it would serve as an example for others. She said the online attacks against her were endless, including from “people who hacked into tax websites and falsified my identity.”
She also lamented that her attackers ignored strong evidence of her gender.
“Birth certificates are not nothing. A father or a mother goes to declare their child and declare who he is and who she is,” she said. “I want to help young people fight harassment, and it will be difficult if I don’t lead by example.”
This is a story updated as it develops.
