Overview
- Ten defendants are on trial in Paris accused of cybermobbing and defamation for spreading claims that Brigitte Macron is a man or is her brother Jean-Michel Trogneux.
- Brigitte Macron’s daughter, Tiphaine Auzière, told the court her mother’s health has suffered, saying she has lost her joie de vivre and worries daily about what her seven grandchildren might hear at school.
- The public prosecutor requested suspended prison terms of three to twelve months and financial penalties, while several defendants argued their posts were satire or protected speech.
- French reports say the falsehoods have circulated since 2017 and resurfaced around elections, with right‑wing and anti‑government networks pushing them; conservative U.S. commentator Candace Owens has been cited as an amplifier.
- Alongside the Paris case, the Macrons filed a U.S. defamation suit in July 2025 against a podcaster, and earlier complaints led to arrests in December 2024 and February 2025 that preceded the current charges.