False claims harmed Brigitte Macron's quality of life, her daughter tells court

Brigitte Macron's daughter has told a Paris court that false claims that the French first lady was born a man had damaged her mother's quality of life, leaving her worrying every day about the clothes she wears and how she stands.

- Angelique Chrisafis

Tiphaine Auzière arrives to give evidence in a Paris court yesterday

Tiphaine Auzière, a lawyer, was called as a witness at the trial of 10 people accused of online harassment of Brigitte Macron by creating or reposting social media posts falsely claiming she was a man.

Auzière said photographs of her mother, including private photos, had been posted online with negative comments. “The consequence is now that she systematically has to pay attention to what she wears, how she holds herself, no matter what she's doing in her daily life, because she knows that her image can be distorted to serve these attacks.”

Eight men and two women, aged 41 to 60, are on trial in Paris. Some of the defendants had a small social media following, while others were better known. All are accused of making malicious comments about Brigitte Macron's gender and sexuality. For some, this included equating the age difference with her husband, the French president Emmanuel Macron, to “paedophilia”. If convicted, they face up to two years in prison.