Macron’s Wife Targeted by Online Harassment, 10 Convicted by Paris Court

Paris, Jan 5, 2026 — A Paris court has convicted ten people for online harassment against French First Lady Brigitte Macron, sentencing several of them to prison terms and banning others from using social media platforms.
According to a report by The Guardian, the convicted individuals—eight men and two women aged between 41 and 60—were found guilty of posting abusive, defamatory, and transphobic content targeting Brigitte Macron. Among them are a school sports teacher, an art gallery owner, and a publisher.
The court on Monday sentenced the offenders to varying terms, including jail sentences of up to eight months. One defendant, who failed to appear in court, received a six-month prison sentence in absentia. Several of the convicted were also barred from using social media platforms.
The harassment campaign focused largely on false claims about Brigitte Macron’s gender and sexuality, including repeated assertions that she was born male. Others mocked the 24-year age difference between President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, as well as their controversial relationship history.
French authorities have previously dismissed as false the claim that Brigitte Macron was born a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux. Trogneux is, in fact, the name of Brigitte Macron’s elder brother, an 80-year-old resident of Amiens in northern France, where the family is well known for its chocolate business.
Following the spread of these claims, President Macron has also filed a defamation lawsuit in a US court against conservative podcaster Candace Owens, accusing her of amplifying the false allegations about his wife’s gender.
Brigitte Macron, who was Emmanuel Macron’s high school teacher before their relationship developed, has long been subjected to public scrutiny due to their age difference. She has three children from a previous marriage, which ended in 2006. She married Emmanuel Macron the following year, when he was 30.
Her daughter and lawyer, Tiphaine Auzière, told the court that the online abuse had severely affected her mother’s daily life and mental well-being, forcing her to constantly worry about her appearance and public behavior. She added that the sustained harassment had led to a noticeable decline in Brigitte Macron’s health.
On the eve of the verdict, Brigitte Macron told French broadcaster TF1 that she would continue to fight the abuse regardless of the court’s decision.
“People are attacking the foundations of my family,” she said. “They claim I am a man. I will not give up.”
The ruling is being seen as a significant legal response to online harassment and gender-based disinformation targeting public figures in France.