Paris trial of 10 accused of online abuse of Brigitte Macron begins

Ten people have gone on trial in Paris charged with the online harassment of Brigitte Macron - the latest phase in a legal battle on both sides of the Atlantic against the false claim that the French first lady is a man.

- Angelique Chrisafis

The French trial comes after the president, Emmanuel Macron, and his wife filed a defamation lawsuit in the US, in connection with a rumour amplified and repeated online that Brigitte Macron was born Jean-Michel Trogneux.

The Macrons' US lawsuit attacked what it called the "verifiably false and devastating lies" being repeated online by the rightwing podcaster Candace Owens that Brigitte Macron, 72, was born male.

The US lawsuit said evidence clearly disproved this "grotesque narrative", which had become "a campaign of global humiliation" and "relentless bullying on a worldwide scale".

The French trial is separate to the US court action and relates to a legal complaint filed by Brigitte Macron in 2024. Ten defendants - eight men and two women, aged 41 to 60 - are being tried in Paris's criminal court, accused of online harassment targeting Brigitte Macron. If convicted, they face up to two years in prison.

The defendants, who deny all wrongdoing, have been accused of making numerous malicious comments about Brigitte Macron's gender and sexuality, even equating her age difference with her husband to "paedophilia", according to prosecutors.