Paris Court Convicts 10 People Over Cyber-Harassment of Brigitte Macron

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - A court in Paris, France, on January 5, 2026, convicted ten individuals for cyberbullying French First Lady Brigitte Macron.

The defendants, eight men and two women aged 41 to 65, were found guilty of spreading false claims and derogatory comments online about Brigitte Macron's gender and sexuality.

The main claim spread online was that Brigitte Macron was born male and is transgender, with her real name being Jean-Michel Trogneux, which is actually her brother's name.

Furthermore, some comments equated the 24-year age difference between Brigitte Macron (72) and her husband, President Emmanuel Macron (48), with pedophilia.

The court declared these comments "particularly degrading, insulting, and malicious," with some posts being viewed tens of thousands of times.

Brigitte Macron took this legal action in the hope of "setting an example" in combating online harassment and misinformation, particularly targeting women in public life.

A Paris court sentenced ten defendants involved in a cyberbullying campaign against Brigitte Macron.

Eight men and two women, aged 41 to 65, were found guilty.

One defendant was sentenced to six months in prison, while the other eight received suspended prison sentences ranging from four to eight months.

One defendant, who did not appear at the hearing, also received a six-month prison sentence.

In addition to the prison sentences, all ten defendants were ordered to undergo cyberbullying awareness training.

Some defendants were also banned from using their social media accounts for six months.

One defendant, a teacher who apologized during the hearing, received the lightest sentence and was only required to attend a cyberbullying awareness course.

All defendants were also ordered to jointly pay 10,000 euros in damages to Brigitte Macron for moral damages.

The court found that the use of the internet as a means of harassment constituted an aggravating circumstance, and the defendants were charged under Article 222-33-2-2 of the French Criminal Code.

Conspiracy theories about Brigitte Macron's gender identity have been circulating online for several years.

These false claims falsely assert that the French First Lady is a transgender woman born male, Jean-Michel Trogneux.

Jean-Michel Trogneux is actually the name of Brigitte Macron's brother.In addition to misleading gender claims, the perpetrators also spread accusations of pedophilia.

These accusations were based on the significant age difference between Brigitte Macron and her husband, President Emmanuel Macron.

The court deemed these comments "highly demeaning, insulting, and malicious."

The reach of this harassment was extensive, with some posts containing the false claims being viewed tens of thousands of times.

Conspiracy theories targeting Brigitte Macron have been circulating online for several years, creating a hostile environment for the First Lady.

Although the Macron family initially tended to ignore these false claims, the increasing intensity of online harassment prompted them to take legal action.

Brigitte Macron has explicitly stated that her motivation for filing the lawsuit is to "set an example" in combating online harassment and disinformation.

She hopes her fight will serve as a role model, especially for teenagers, in dealing with cyberbullying.

The case also aims to protect women in the public sphere from similar attacks.

The impact of this online harassment is not only felt by Brigitte Macron herself, but also extends to her entire family.

Her daughter, Tiphaine Auzière, testified in court about the "deterioration" of her mother's life since the online harassment escalated.

Auzière said her mother could not ignore the terrible things said about her, and the impact was even felt by Macron's grandchildren.