PARIS: Ten individuals have been produced before a Paris court on charges of running an online campaign spreading false and sexually suggestive rumors about France’s First Lady, Brigitte Macron.
The accused are alleged to have circulated a baseless claim for years, suggesting that Brigitte Macron was born male. The trial comes at a time when both Brigitte and French President Emmanuel Macron have filed a defamation lawsuit in the United States against far-right media figures accused of amplifying the same rumor.
According to prosecutors, the defendants include eight men and two women aged between 41 and 60. If convicted, they could face up to two years in prison. The prosecution stated that the suspects made derogatory comments online about the First Lady’s gender and marriage, with some portraying the couple’s age gap as immoral.
These rumors first surfaced in 2017, shortly after Macron’s election victory, and gained traction among far-right and conspiracy theory circles. Among the defendants is publicity agent Aurélien Poirson-Atlan, known online as Zoé Sagan, who allegedly played a key role in promoting the claims.
Another defendant, Delphine J., who identifies as a spiritual leader, published a four-hour interview on her YouTube channel in 2021, repeating the false claims about Brigitte Macron. The First Lady initially won a lawsuit against her in 2024, but the ruling was later overturned on appeal. The case is now pending before France’s highest court.
Case in the United States
In July, President Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron also filed a lawsuit in the U.S. against conservative podcaster Candace Owens, who produced a video series titled Becoming Brigitte, alleging that the French First Lady was actually male. According to the couple’s lawyer, scientific evidence and photographs will be presented in court to prove that all claims against Brigitte Macron are fabricated. Prosecutors in Paris added that several of the accused had shared the same videos and posts online. One individual even claimed that two thousand people were ready to go door-to-door in the Macrons’ hometown of Amiens to “verify the truth” of the rumors.
