A Paris court has found ten people guilty of cyber-bullying Brigitte Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, in a ruling that is being widely viewed as a significant affirmation of legal protections against online abuse.

The defendants were convicted of spreading false claims about Brigitte Macron’s gender and sexuality, alongside what the court described as “malicious remarks” targeting the 24-year age difference between her and the president. The judge said the eight men and two women involved had acted with a clear intention to cause harm, publishing remarks online that were degrading, insulting and deliberately hurtful.

Most of those found guilty received suspended prison sentences of up to eight months, reflecting the court’s emphasis on deterrence and accountability rather than incarceration. One defendant was immediately jailed after failing to appear in court, while several others were ordered to have their social media accounts suspended. The court also mandated prevention and awareness courses, underlining a broader effort to curb similar behaviour in the future.

Speaking after the verdict, Brigitte Macron’s lawyer, Jean Ennochi, welcomed the outcome, stressing that the preventative measures were especially important. “The most important things are the prevention courses and the suspension of some of the accounts.

The case also revisited the activities of two prominent figures previously linked to the conspiracy theories. Self-styled independent journalist Natacha Rey and internet fortune-teller Amandine Roy had been found guilty of slander in 2024 for claiming that France’s first lady had never existed, alleging instead that her brother, Jean-Michel Trogneux, had changed gender and taken her identity. Although they were later cleared on appeal — with judges ruling that claiming someone had changed gender did not necessarily constitute an attack on their honour — the Macrons have since decided to take that case to France’s highest court of appeal.

The personal toll of the cyber-bullying was detailed during the trial by Tiphaine Auzière, Brigitte Macron’s daughter from a previous marriage. She told the court that the sustained online attacks had negatively affected her mother’s health and daily life. Auzière explained that Brigitte Macron had become extremely cautious about her clothing, posture and public appearance, knowing that images of her were often repurposed online to support conspiracy narratives.

While her mother had, over time, “learned to live with it”, Auzière said the impact on the family extended to her own children, who were subjected to taunts at school because of the rumours. Her testimony added emotional weight to the proceedings and reinforced the court’s view of the real-world consequences of online harassment.

Monday’s ruling is also being seen as a precursor to a much larger legal battle abroad. The Macrons have filed a defamation lawsuit in the United States against right-wing influencer Candace Owens, accusing her of amplifying and sustaining the same conspiracy theories about the first lady’s gender. In their filing, the presidential couple allege that Owens “disregarded all credible evidence disproving her claim in favour of platforming known conspiracy theorists and proven defamers”.

Owens has repeatedly voiced the claims on her podcast and social media platforms and, in March 2024, said she would stake her “entire professional reputation” on her assertion that Brigitte Macron “is in fact a man”. The upcoming US case is expected to test the limits of free speech and defamation law in a highly charged political and cultural environment.

Initially, advisers had urged the Macrons to ignore the rumours, warning that legal action could unintentionally amplify them. However, last year marked a decisive change in strategy. The presidential couple concluded that the scale, persistence and coordination of the online attacks had grown too large to overlook. Despite the personal risks of exposing private details in a US courtroom, they chose to confront the conspiracy theories directly.

False claims that Brigitte Macron is a transgender woman have circulated online since Emmanuel Macron was first elected president in 2017. The couple’s relationship has long attracted public attention, particularly because they first met when she was a teacher at his secondary school. They married in 2007, when Emmanuel Macron was 29 and Brigitte Macron was in her mid-50s.