Paris Court Convicts 10 in Brigitte Macron Online Harassment Case

A Paris court has found 10 people guilty of online harassment of Brigitte Macron, the French president's wife, for posting or reposting malicious comments claiming she was a man. Eight men and two women, aged 41 to 60, including a school sports teacher, an art gallery owner and a publicist, received sentences that ranged from a compulsory course in understanding online harassment to an eight-month suspended prison sentence. One man, a property developer who was absent from the trial, was given a six-month prison sentence. Some defendants were also suspended from accessing the social media platforms on which they made or reposted the comments.

They were convicted of making or sharing malicious comments about Brigitte Macron’s gender and sexuality, asserting she had been born a man. For some, the comments linked her age difference with President Emmanuel Macron to paedophilia. The Paris verdict represents a new phase in the broader legal battle over the false claim that Brigitte Macron is a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux. The Macrons have also filed a defamation lawsuit in the United States against conservative podcaster Candace Owens for amplifying and repeating the claim. The U.S. filing states that the allegation Brigitte Macron is a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux is completely false and that Trogneux is Brigitte Macron’s older brother, who grew up in Amiens in a family known for its chocolate business.

The case underscores ongoing concerns about online harassment and misinformation involving high-profile figures in France, and highlights the country’s evolving approach to punishing the spread of harmful, false statements about public figures online.

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