French prosecutors seek suspended jail terms in Brigitte Macron cyber-bullying case
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
French President Emmanuel Macron (left) and his wife Brigitte Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Oct 8.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
- French prosecutors seek suspended sentences (3-12 months) and fines (up to €8,000) for 10 defendants accused of cyberbullying Brigitte Macron with false gender claims.
- Mrs. Macron's daughter testified the rumours harmed her mother's health; the first lady stated the rumours, amplified by conspiracy theorists, impacted her and her family.
- The Macrons filed a US defamation lawsuit over similar claims and plan to offer "scientific" evidence; similar disinformation has targeted other female politicians.
AI generated
PARIS – French prosecutors on Oct 28 sought suspended prison terms of three to 12 months for defendants accused of cyber-bullying First Lady Brigitte Macron by spreading unsubstantiated claims about her gender.
Prosecutors also requested fines of up to €8,000 (S$12,000) against the 10 defendants – eight men and two women, aged 41 to 65 – who have been accused of cyber harassment targeting the French First Lady.
The heaviest sentences were sought for three defendants described by prosecutors as “instigators”, while the seven others were labelled “followers”.
The trial comes after President Emmanuel Macron and his wife filed a defamation lawsuit in the United States at the end of July, in connection with a false claim amplified and repeated online that Mrs Macron was born male.
The allegation has long targeted the presidential couple, alongside criticism of their quarter-century age gap.
Mrs Macron’s daughter told a French court on Oct 28 that unsubstantiated claims about her mother’s gender had harmed the First Lady’s health.
“She’s constantly having to pay attention to what she wears, how she holds herself because she knows that her image can be distorted,” said Ms Tiphaine Auziere, 41. The recycled disinformation had led to a “deterioration” in her mother’s health, she added.
Mrs Macron has stayed away from the trial in Paris, but she told investigators the rumour had greatly impacted her and her family, especially her grandchildren, who were told their grandmother was a man.
Ms Tiphaine Auziere, the daughter of French First Lady Brigitte Macron, arriving at the Paris court on Oct 28.
PHOTO: AFP
The First Lady filed a complaint in August 2024 that led to an investigation into cyber bullying and arrests in December 2024 and February 2025.
‘Media deep state’
Prosecutors sought the heaviest sentences against three of the defendants, including Aurelien Poirson-Atlan, 41, a publicist known on social media as “Zoe Sagan” and often linked to conspiracy theory circles.
Prosecutors requested a 12-month suspended prison sentence, an €8,000 fine and a six-month suspension of his social media accounts. In court on Oct 28, he defended his right to what he called “satire”.
French author Aurelien Poirson-Atlan speaking to the press during a break in the trial.
PHOTO: AFP
Another defendant, Bertrand Scholler, 56, said on Oct 26 that the trial was targeting his “freedom to think” while faced with the “media deep state”.
Prosecutors requested a six-month suspended sentence, a €3,000 fine and the immediate suspension of Scholler’s social media accounts for six months.
Bertrand Scholler arriving for the trial on Oct 27.
PHOTO: AFP
The third is a woman who is already the subject of a libel complaint filed by Mrs Macron
For Delphine J, prosecutors sought a six-month suspended jail term, a €4,000 fine and the suspension of her online accounts, also for half a year.
In 2021, she posted a four-hour interview with self-described independent journalist Natacha Rey on her YouTube channel, alleging Mrs Macron had once been a man called Jean-Michel Trogneux, the name of her brother.
Delphine J, also known as Amandine Roy, speaking to the press as she arrives for the trial in Paris on Oct 27.
PHOTO: AFP
The two women were ordered to pay damages
The First Lady has since taken the case to the country’s highest appeals court.
US influencer
Emerging as early as Mr Macron’s election in 2017, the claims have been amplified by far-right and conspiracy theorist circles in France, and in the US, where transgender rights have become a hot-button issue at the heart of American culture wars.
The presidential couple filed a US defamation lawsuit
Several of those on trial in Paris shared posts from the US influencer.
The Macrons are planning to offer “scientific” evidence and photos
Other high-profile women in politics have also been the target of disinformation about their gender or sexuality.
They include former US first lady Michelle Obama, former US vice-president Kamala Harris and former New Zealand premier Jacinda Ardern. AFP
