Ten people have been found guilty of cyberbullying France’s First Lady, Brigitte Macron, over repeated false online claims about her gender identity and relationship with President Emmanuel Macron.
The group suggested that Mrs Macron was born a man, and linked the 24-year age gap in her marriage to paedophilia.
A Paris court described the comments as “particularly degrading, insulting and malicious”.
The defendants, aged between 41 and 65, received varying sentences.
The case
In 2024, Brigitte Macron filed a legal complaint against a group whose posts on X, formerly Twitter, gained widespread attention.
The posts spread an online conspiracy theory that alleged Mrs Macron was born male under the name Jean-Michel – the name of her older brother.
The group also accused Mrs Macron of paedophilia over her relationship with President Emmanuel Macron, who she met when he was 15, and she was his 39-year-old drama teacher. The pair formed a relationship after Mr Macron left school.
The trial, held in a Paris court in October 2025, involved eight men and two women. Three defendants were tried in absentia, meaning the case proceeded without them present.
Most of the defendants denied wrongdoing, arguing the posts were either jokes or were cause for legitimate public debate.
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One defendant offered an apology to Mrs Macron.
Sentence
The group received a range of sentences, from mandatory online harassment awareness training to a six-month prison term.
Another defendant received a suspended eight-month prison sentence.
Each defendant was fined around $AU1,000. They were also ordered to collectively pay about $AU17,500 in compensation to Brigitte Macron.
Half were also banned from using X for six months.
Other cases
This is one of several ongoing legal actions brought by Mrs Macron.
One of the most high-profile cases involves American right-wing commentator Candace Owens, over an eight-part YouTube series promoting the false claim that Mrs Macron is transgender.
