Ten on Trial Over Cyberbullying of Brigitte Macron

Ten people are on trial in Paris accused of cyber-harassing French first lady Brigitte Macron by spreading false claims she was born male and portraying the couple’s age gap as “paedophilia,” with each defendant facing up to two years in prison if convicted. Brigitte, 72, has not attended the hearings; her daughter Tiphaine Auzière testified on the second day as prosecutors said the online abuse severely affected the first lady’s physical and mental health and distressed her family, particularly her grandchildren. The case stems from a complaint Brigitte filed in August 2024 that led to arrests in December 2024 and February 2025, and runs alongside a separate U.S. defamation lawsuit the Macrons filed in July targeting figures including Candace Owens. Defendants include Aurélien Poirson‑Atlan (known online as “Zoé Sagan”) and Delphine J. (the clairvoyant Amandine Roy); several defendants deny wrongdoing and invoke free‑speech defences or say they are the ones being harassed. The trial follows earlier defamation rulings against Rey and Roy that were overturned on appeal, and investigators say a documentary-linked hack briefly changed Brigitte Macron’s name in France’s tax database and have linked that intrusion to a Corsican couple.