Ten individuals are set to face trial in Paris on Monday for allegedly spreading defamatory and malicious online comments about France’s First Lady, Brigitte Macron, including false claims about her gender and sexuality.
According to the Paris prosecutor’s office, the group — comprising eight men and two women aged between 41 and 60 — are accused of circulating conspiracy theories suggesting Brigitte Macron was born male and of referring to her 24-year age gap with President Emmanuel Macron as “paedophilia.”
Officials said several of the accused are active social media users, with some of their posts receiving tens of thousands of views. Among them are a self-described medium, an advertising executive (whose X account has since been suspended), a local elected official, a teacher, and a computer scientist.
False Claims and Defamation Cases
The baseless theory — claiming that Brigitte Macron was born as a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux (the name of her actual brother) — has circulated online for years.
The two-day trial follows a defamation lawsuit filed by the Macrons in July in a Delaware court, targeting U.S. conservative commentator Candace Owens, who has repeated the false claims to her 4.5 million YouTube subscribers. The couple’s lawyer said they would seek “substantial damages” if Owens persisted with the accusations.
Owens, known for her controversial right-wing views, was denied visas to New Zealand and Australia in 2024 over remarks minimizing Nazi medical experimentation during the Holocaust.
Ongoing Legal Battle
This is not the first time the French first lady has taken legal action over the rumours. In September 2024, Brigitte and her brother Jean-Michel Trogneux won a defamation case against two women who were fined for spreading the false claims online. However, a Paris appeals court overturned the verdict in July 2025, prompting them to appeal to France’s highest court.
A verdict in the current case is expected at a later date.
Background on the Macrons
Brigitte Macron, now 71, first met Emmanuel Macron when he was her student and she was a teacher at a high school in Amiens. Then married and a mother of three, she was known as Brigitte Auzière. The couple married in 2007, and Emmanuel Macron has served as France’s president since 2017.
10 People To Stand Trial For Cyberbullying France’s First Lady Brigitte Macron
