A Paris court on Monday, found ten people guilty of cyberbullying France’s 'first lady,' Brigitte Macron, for speading claims about her gender and sexuality, including allegations she was born a man and linking her 24-year age gap and having affair with then 14-year-old Emmanuel Macron, to pedophilia.
The court handed down sentences ranging from a six-month prison term to suspended sentences of four to eight months, with all defendants mandated to attend cyberbullying awareness training.
Delphine Jegousse, 51, known as Amandine Roy, was identified as a major instigator for releasing a four-hour YouTube video in 2021 spreading the false narrative; she received a six-month prison sentence. Aurélien Poirson-Atlan, 41, known as Zoé Sagan on social media, had his X account suspended in 2024 and was sentenced to eight months in prison.
One defendant, a property asset manager, received a six-month prison sentence, which may be served at home under conditions such as an ankle monitor. Eight defendants were given suspended sentences between four and eight months.
The one defendant not given a prison sentence was a teacher who apologized during the trial and will only attend awareness training. Five of those convicted were barred from using the social media platform X for six months, and all were fined 600 euros each, with a collective compensation of 10,000 euros ($12,000) ordered to Brigitte Macron.
During the trial, several defendants claimed their comments were intended as humor or satire and expressed confusion over being prosecuted. The court rejected these defenses, stating the repeated, malicious nature of the posts had cumulative harmful effects.
Bertrand Scholler, 55, a gallerist and writer, said he would appeal his six-month suspended jail sentence.
"This is horrible. It's abominable," he told reporters at court. "This shows just how far French society is drifting toward less freedom of speech. Freedom of speech no longer exists."
Speaking on TF1 national television on Sunday, Brigitte Macron said she launched legal proceedings to “set an example” in the fight against harassment. She emphasized the relentless nature of the online attacks, including instances where her tax website was hacked and her identity altered, and stressed the importance of helping adolescents combat harassment.
Brigitte's daughter, Tiphaine Auzière, testified about the “deterioration” of her mother’s life and the emotional toll on the entire family, including Macron’s grandchildren.
Brigitte claimed that her attackers ignored the strong evidence of her gender. "A birth certificate is not nothing. It is a father or a mother who goes to declare their child, who says who he is or who she is," she said. "I want to help adolescents to fight against harassment, and if I do not set an example, it will be difficult."
The French court case follows years of reporting and online chatter claiming Brigitte Macron was born Jean-Michel Trogneux, the name of her brother, and coincides with a separate defamation lawsuit filed by the Macrons against U.S. journalist and conmmentator Candace Owens. The French 'first lady' claims 'she' was born Brigitte Auzière, is a mother of three, and married Emmanuel Macron in 2007 after previously meeting as teacher and student (when Brigitte was allegedly 39 and Emmanuel was 14).
Responding to the sentencing, one of the French reporters who investigated Brigitte's gender mystery, Xavier Poussard wrote on X, "While 11 French citizens have just been convicted of cyberbullying Brigitte Macron, 'she' bizarrely explained yesterday on @TF1 that the prosecution in the Jean-Michel Trogneux case was intended to 'set an example' in order to 'help teenagers.' However, 'Brigitte,' who intimately knew @EmmanuelMacron as his drama student when he was 14, never contradicted judicially the conclusions of #BecomingBrigitte, namely that she was born a male as Jean-Michel Trogneux and became known under the married name of her younger sister, Brigitte Auzière, since the mid-1980s."
On her part, Owens wrote, "Consider the fact that this man statutorily raped a student and is today securing convictions for 'cyberbullying' against people for discussing his dark past. It is my honest to God belief that Jean Michel Trogneux was involved in some really sinister stuff during his military years, which made his transition a requirement. Brigitte is dangerous. That he wakes up everyday, puts on a fake wig, lipstick and mascara and declares war on those who know his true identity is nothing short of psychopathic."
Owens added, "I do not believe Jean Michel Trogneux transitioned because he felt he was a woman. I believe he transitioned because whatever he did during his military years overseas was so demented that he needed an entirely new face and identity. Brigitte mentioning 'MKUltra' a shocking 18 times in his lawsuit against me was a confession."
