A Paris court has convicted 10 people of cyberbullying France’s first lady, Brigitte Macron, marking a significant legal victory against coordinated online harassment campaigns. The verdict addresses a years-long conspiracy theory falsely claiming Macron was born male—allegations that have circulated widely across social media platforms.
The Verdict and Sentencing
The defendants, ranging in age from 41 to 65 (eight men and two women), faced charges for spreading false claims about Macron’s gender and sexuality. One defendant received a six-month prison sentence, while eight received suspended sentences ranging from four to eight months. All 10 defendants were mandated to attend cyberbullying awareness training.
The court emphasized that the defendants’ posts were “particularly degrading, insulting, and malicious,” with some comments viewed tens of thousands of times. Five defendants will also lose access to their X (formerly Twitter) accounts for six months.
The Campaign Against Macron
The harassment campaign centered on a baseless conspiracy theory falsely connecting Macron to her brother’s name—Jean-Michel Trogneux. This type of targeting, known as “transvestigation,” represents a common online conspiracy practice that weaponizes false gender identity claims to harass and humiliate targets while spreading hateful rhetoric about transgender people.
The harassment also targeted Macron’s 24-year age gap with President Emmanuel Macron, with defendants likening it to pedophilia. The couple met when Macron was a high school student and his future wife was a teacher at the institution.
Notable Defendants
One defendant, Delphine Jegousse (known as Amandine Roy), played a major role in spreading the rumor after releasing a four-hour video on her YouTube channel in 2021. She received the six-month prison sentence. Another defendant, Aurélien Poirson-Atlan (known as Zoé Sagan on social media), received an eight-month suspended sentence after his X account was suspended in 2024 for judicial investigation-related activities.
During the trial, several defendants claimed their posts were intended as humor or satire. One defendant—a teacher—apologized and avoided prison time, receiving only the mandatory cyberbullying awareness training requirement.
Brigitte Macron’s Response
Speaking on French national television, Macron stated she launched the legal proceedings “to set an example” in the fight against harassment. In a separate interview, she emphasized, “No one can touch my genealogy, that’s something impossible.”
Broader Legal Action
The Paris court verdict comes as part of a larger push back against harassment. The Macrons have also filed a defamation suit in the United States against conservative influencer Candace Owens, who has repeatedly spread the same false claims since 2024 and stated she would stake her “entire professional reputation” on the allegations.
The case represents a landmark moment in holding online harassers accountable for coordinated campaigns spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories targeting public figures.
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