Paris, France – October 27, 2025
Ten individuals will appear before a Paris criminal court this week in a landmark two-day trial accused of orchestrating a sustained campaign of online harassment against Brigitte Macron, France’s First Lady. The defendants—eight women and two men aged 41 to 60—face charges of disseminating “numerous malicious comments” that include baseless conspiracy theories alleging that Mrs. Macron was born male under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux and derogatory characterizations of her 24-year age difference with President Emmanuel Macron as “paedophilia.”
The case, which begins Tuesday, represents a pivotal moment in the Macrons’ multi-year legal battle to combat the viral spread of disinformation targeting the presidential couple. Prosecutors allege the defendants used social media platforms, notably X (formerly Twitter), to amplify false narratives that have persisted since at least 2021 despite repeated debunking by fact-checkers and mainstream media.
According to the Paris public prosecutor’s office, the accused include professionals from varied backgrounds: a self-described medium, an advertising executive whose X account was suspended following the investigation, a locally elected official, a secondary school teacher, and an IT specialist. Several defendants maintained highly active online profiles, with individual posts garnering tens of thousands of views and shares, contributing to what authorities describe as a coordinated effort to humiliate and defame the First Lady.
The conspiracy theory at the case’s core originated in fringe online circles in late 2021, when a four-hour YouTube video titled “The Brigitte Macron Mystery” falsely claimed that Mrs. Macron had transitioned from male to female and that her brother, Jean-Michel Trogneux, was being used as a cover. The video, viewed over 300,000 times before removal, triggered a cascade of memes, doctored images, and inflammatory commentary across French-language social media. Despite Mrs. Macron’s well-documented biography—including school records, family photographs, and testimony from childhood acquaintances—the rumor resurfaced periodically, most recently amplified in English-speaking circles by U.S. conservative commentator Candace Owens in early 2025.
Legal proceedings against the ten defendants began in 2023 after the Macrons filed a complaint for cyberbullying, harassment, and invasion of privacy. French law treats online harassment as a criminal offense punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment and €30,000 in fines, with penalties increasing when the victim holds public office. Investigators from the Brigade de Répression de la Délinquance aux Personnes (BRDP) traced inflammatory posts to the defendants through IP addresses, account metadata, and cross-referenced timestamps. Some defendants allegedly operated under pseudonyms but were identified via mutual interactions and shared content.
“This is not a matter of free speech but of deliberate, repeated harm,” said Maître Richard Malka, the Macrons’ attorney, outside the Palais de Justice on Monday. “The First Lady has endured years of grotesque lies that question her very identity. The judiciary must set a precedent that such conduct has consequences.”
The trial’s scope extends beyond individual liability. Prosecutors intend to present digital forensics showing how the defendants formed informal networks—private Telegram groups and shared Google Docs—where they exchanged fabricated “evidence” and coordinated posting schedules to maximize visibility. One defendant, identified only as “C.B.” in court documents, allegedly authored a 27-page PDF titled “The Trogneux Deception” that was downloaded 12,000 times from a file-sharing site.
Defense attorneys argue that their clients engaged in legitimate criticism of a public figure. “Questioning the age gap in a marriage, however provocative, falls within protected political discourse,” contended Maître Olivia Ronen, representing the suspended advertising executive. “The prosecution risks criminalizing satire and hyperbole.” Lawyers have also challenged the admissibility of certain screenshots, claiming they were taken out of context or altered.
The case arrives amid heightened French scrutiny of online toxicity. A 2024 report by the Haute Autorité pour la Transparence de la Vie Publique (HATVP) documented a 180% surge in threats against elected officials and their families since 2020, with women disproportionately targeted. President Macron himself has faced death threats, while his wife has required enhanced security after protesters chanted transphobic slurs outside the Élysée Palace in 2023.
This is not Brigitte Macron’s first courtroom confrontation with the rumor. In September 2024, she and her brother Jean-Michel Trogneux secured a defamation victory against Natacha Rey and Amandine Roy, the original YouTube video’s producers. A lower court ordered the women to pay €8,000 in damages and €5,000 in legal costs each. However, the Paris Court of Appeal overturned the ruling in July 2025, citing insufficient proof of malicious intent. The Macrons have appealed to the Cour de Cassation, France’s highest judicial body, with a hearing scheduled for spring 2026.
The current defendants could face steeper penalties if convicted, as cyberbullying charges carry aggravating factors when committed in a group. Judges may also order the removal of offending content and impose monitoring of the defendants’ future online activity.
Brigitte Macron, 72, has remained largely silent on the ordeal, though sources close to the Élysée describe her as “resolute but weary.” The couple married in 2007 after a relationship that began when Emmanuel Macron, then 15, was a student in her literature class at La Providence high school in Amiens. Mrs. Macron, a divorced mother of three, has three adult children and seven grandchildren from her first marriage. President Macron, 47, was elected in 2017 and re-elected in 2022.
A verdict is not expected immediately; the presiding judge has indicated a written ruling will follow within four to six weeks to allow thorough review of the voluminous digital evidence. Whatever the outcome, the trial underscores a broader societal reckoning with the weaponization of disinformation in the digital age.
As France prepares to host the 2026 Rugby World Cup and navigates tense budget negotiations, the Macron administration hopes a strong judicial response will deter similar campaigns. For now, ten ordinary citizens—mediums, teachers, and technologists—sit in the dock, their keyboards transformed into instruments of alleged malice under the unforgiving glare of the French republic’s justice system.
