Ten people who falsely claimed that Brigitte Macron, France’s first lady, was born male were found guilty on Monday of online harassment.
The eight men and two women — three of whom were tried in absentia — received sentences ranging from mandatory online harassment awareness training to an eight-month suspended jail sentence. The court also fined each 600 euros and ordered them to contribute to a total of 10,000 euros — about $12,000 — in compensation to Ms. Macron
They were tried after posting messages and photos on social media that wrongly suggested that Ms. Macron — the wife of President Emmanuel Macron of France — was born a man called Jean-Michel Trogneux, the name of her older brother. The seven defendants tried in person denied wrongdoing, variously saying their posts were either meant in jest or constituted legitimate debate. Only one apologized.
The case was seen as a symptom of a toxic online culture in which growing numbers of internet users, driven by resentment of mainstream leaders and distrust in mainstream news media, are increasingly drawn to conspiracy theories and false information. Mr. Macron has cited the case to amplify a broader campaign against misinformation, which includes a contentious proposal to issue certifications that differentiate professional news networks from other websites.
The Macrons have often been the subject of such misinformation since Mr. Macron successfully ran for the presidency in 2017, in part because of their 24-year age gap. Ms. Macron, 72, met her husband when he was 15 and she was his 39-year-old drama teacher, married with three children. She later divorced her first husband and married Mr. Macron in 2007.
The claims, once a feature of fringe discourse, received global prominence last year after being circulated by the American right-wing podcaster, Candace Owens. Her posts were among those shared by the people convicted on Monday. Ms. Owens, who has repeatedly stood by her claims, is not a party to the French proceedings.
The Macrons are separately suing Ms. Owens for slander in the United States, in the second of five lawsuits that the couple or their relatives have filed against people who have spread false rumors about their family.
The ten people convicted at the Paris trial were aged 41 to 65, according to evidence read out in court during the trial. Some of their comments suggested that the Macrons’ relationship amounted to “pedophilia,” prosecutors said ahead of the trial.
During the trial, most of the defendants said they had no idea that what they considered lighthearted banter about the presidential couple could land them in court. They insisted that the debate over Ms. Macron’s identity and the nature of the couple’s relationship was legitimate.
Ms. Macron did not appear during the trial. In an interview with the police in December 2024, read out in court, she spoke of the negative impact that the bullying had on her and her relatives, and said that she felt the claims were intended to hurt the president.
Her youngest daughter from her first marriage, Tiphaine Auzière, said on the second day of the trial that her mother had been seriously affected by the bullying. “Not a week goes without someone talking to her about it,” Ms. Auzière said. “That means she can’t ignore what people say about her, not even for a day.”
The Macrons have refrained from addressing the online claims at length.
But speaking in November, Mr. Macron said he and his wife had felt “helpless” when targeted by cyberbullies. “It goes on and on, people see it, there are fools who think it’s true, and then it wears you down,” he said.
Asked about the verdict in a TV interview on Sunday, Ms. Macron said it was one of several cases she was battling in court. “After that, I have another one against the two women who are messing with my family tree by claiming that I am a man,” she said, referring to two of the defendants.
Both were found guilty of slander in a separate case last year after the two women posted a four-hour video in which some of the claims were initially made. That separate conviction was overturned on appeal in July and the case is likely to be heard by France’s highest appeals court later this year.
“A birth certificate is no small thing,” Ms. Macron said, “You don’t mess with that.”
Ana Castelain contributed reporting.
Ségolène Le Stradic is a reporter and researcher covering France.
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