Overview

• On July 10, a Paris appeals court acquitted two YouTubers of defamation for spreading false claims that Brigitte Macron is transgender
• Macron and her brother have filed an appeal with the Court of Cassation to challenge the acquittal and pursue final judgment in the defamation suit
• The Court of Cassation will examine potential procedural errors in the appeals process rather than rehear the substance of the claims
• Separately, ten individuals face cybermobbing charges over online harassment of the first lady, with pretrial hearings underway and a trial set for October 2025
• These actions extend Macron’s multi-stage legal campaign against persistent gender-based conspiracy theories that have targeted her since 2017