Paris
—
French first lady Brigitte Macron’s daughter told a Paris court on Tuesday that she is currently suffering from “deep anxiety” due to her mother’s false claims about her gender.
Tiphane Ozier, 41, said it was important for her to testify at the trial where 10 people are accused of online harassment of the 72-year-old first lady for spreading what prosecutors called “malicious comments” about gender and sexuality.
“There isn’t a week that goes by that she isn’t being harassed, and there isn’t a single person in her personal or professional life that doesn’t raise these allegations,” Auzier said.
She spoke of how her mother has to constantly be careful about how she dresses and carries herself out of fear that her image will be “distorted” and weaponized online. Mr Auzière said cyberbullying had taken a huge toll on Brigitte Macron’s mental health, adding that this “deterioration” was supported by a medical assessment.
“She reads the tweets that appear and doesn’t want to read them anymore,” Auzier added.
The youngest of Brigitte Macron’s three children from her first marriage, André-Louis Ozier, said the attack had had a severe impact on the whole family. The mother explained that she was shocked and said, “I don’t know how to stop it,” because “my grandchildren are listening to what’s being said.”
The case is related to a legal complaint filed by the first lady’s lawyer in August 2024 alleging cyberbullying, which led to two arrests in February and March 2025.
Prosecutors said the initial investigation identified several claims about Brigitte Macron’s gender and sexuality, and also described the age difference between her and the president as “pedophilia.” The trial is expected to last two days, after which a verdict is expected.
The eight men and two women on trial include an elected official, an art gallery owner, an IT expert, a teacher, a property manager and a business owner. All participants were between 41 and 60 years old. CNN affiliate BFMTV provided details about one of the defendants, Aurélien Poirson Atlan, a 41-year-old advertising executive who uses the pseudonym “Zoe Sagan” on social media. His X account, which has since been suspended, has been the subject of several complaints and has often been linked to conspiracy theorists.
If convicted, the defendant faces up to two years in prison.
The trial comes three months after the Macrons filed a 22-count defamation lawsuit in the US state of Delaware against right-wing podcaster Candace Owens over claims that Brigitte Macron could be male.
The Delaware lawsuit alleges that Mr. Owens broadcast a “relentless, year-long defamation campaign against Mr. Macron.”
In March, the conservative commentator revived the conspiracy theory with a YouTube video titled “Is France’s First Lady a Man?” According to the complaint. Owens said the conspiracy theory, widely promoted by X, was “probably the biggest scandal in political history.”
Since then, Ms. Owens has produced numerous videos about Brigitte Macron for her approximately 4.5 million YouTube subscribers, including a multi-part series called “Becoming Brigitte.”
