A court in Paris on Monday found 10 people guilty of cyberbullying France’s first lady, Brigitte Macron, in the latest legal action sparked by false claims that she is a transgender woman born male.
The eight men and two women, aged between 41 and 60, were accused of making malicious comments about Mrs Macron’s gender and sexuality, including equating her age difference with her husband to “paedophilia”.
The court said these claims were “particularly degrading, insulting and malicious” and imposed sentences ranging from cyberbullying awareness training to eight-month suspended prison sentences.
Ms Macron did not attend the two-day trial in October. Speaking on national television TF1 on Sunday, she said she had initiated legal proceedings to “set an example” in the fight against harassment.
Defendant Delphine Jegousse, 51, a self-styled medium known as Amandine Roy, is believed to have played a major role in spreading the rumor after releasing a four-hour video on her YouTube channel in 2021.
She was also the subject of a defamation complaint filed by Macron three years ago.
Other defendants include an elected official, a teacher and a computer scientist. Several people told the court their comments were intended as humor or satire and said they did not understand why they were being prosecuted.
During the trial, defendant Jerome A, 49, was asked about posts he wrote or reposted last year about Ms Macron being a man or having a penis. He told the court that “it was just a joke,” adding that his posts were “satirical” in nature.
Arrests were made in December 2024 and February 2025, and all ten denied wrongdoing.
The case follows years of conspiracy theories falsely claiming that Ms Macron was born under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux, which is actually the name of her brother.
The wild, unsubstantiated claims about Ms Macron’s gender are also gaining traction in the US, where far-right podcaster Candace Owens has repeatedly amplified the false claim online that France’s first lady was born male.
The Macrons have also filed a defamation suit against Owens in the United States.
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