Ten people go on trial in Paris on Monday, October 27, for sexist cyber-harassment against France’s First Lady, Brigitte Macron, in a case linked to years of baseless online claims about her gender. The proceedings mark the latest chapter in a wave of disinformation and personal attacks directed at the presidential couple.
The trial follows a defamation lawsuit filed by Brigitte and President Emmanuel Macron in the United States in July, in response to a rumour falsely alleging that the first lady was assigned male at birth.
The unsubstantiated claim has circulated for years in far-right and conspiracy theory circles, often resurfacing alongside criticism of the couple’s 24-year age difference.
According to prosecutors, the ten defendants — eight men and two women aged between 41 and 60 — are accused of online harassment, including publishing derogatory and malicious comments about Brigitte Macron’s gender and sexuality.
Some also likened her marriage to “paedophilia.” If convicted, they face up to two years in prison.
The French first lady lodged a formal complaint in August 2024, leading to an investigation and a series of arrests in December 2024 and February 2025.
Among those on trial is Aurelien Poirson-Atlan, 41, a publicist known online as “Zoe Sagan,” reportedly linked to conspiracy networks. Another is Delphine J., 51, a self-styled spiritual medium known as “Amandine Roy,” who was previously targeted by Brigitte Macron in a 2022 libel complaint.
In 2021, Roy hosted a four-hour YouTube interview with independent commentator Natacha Rey, during which the pair claimed that Brigitte Macron, born Trogneux, had once been a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux — the name of her brother.
The two women were ordered to pay damages in 2024, though their conviction was later overturned on appeal. The first lady has since taken the case to France’s highest appeals court.
The rumour first emerged during Emmanuel Macron’s 2017 presidential campaign and has since been amplified by far-right activists in France and abroad, including in the United States, where transgender issues have become a central topic in political and cultural debates.
In July, the Macrons also filed a U.S. defamation lawsuit against conservative commentator Candace Owens, who released a podcast series titled “Becoming Brigitte,” repeating the false claims.
Their American attorney said the couple intends to submit “scientific” evidence and photographs to disprove the allegations.
Several of the Paris defendants are accused of sharing content from Owens’ series, including one who wrote about plans for “2,000 people” to go “door-to-door in Amiens,” the Macrons’ hometown, to “get to the bottom of the Brigitte affair.”
Brigitte Macron’s case mirrors broader trends in online misogyny and disinformation campaigns that have also targeted prominent women worldwide, including Michelle Obama, Kam
