A Paris court on Monday gives its verdict in the trial of 10 people accused of cyber-harassment of President Emmanuel Macron’s wife Brigitte by spreading false information about her gender and insinuations related to the age difference between the first couple.
The relationship between Emmanuel Macron, 48, and Brigitte, 72, who met while she was a drama teacher at his school, has been the subject of intense interest since he became president in 2017.
But in recent years this scrutiny has extended to the widespread publication of false information which the first couple have resolved not to ignore and instead combat in court.
They have filed a defamation lawsuit in the United Stares against right-wing US podcaster Candace Owens who falsely claimed the spouse of the French president used to be a man.
The Paris trial, a separate case, concerns 10 defendants from different walks of life aged between 41 and 65 who risk suspended sentences of three to 12 months and fines of up to 8,000 euros ($ 9,300) if convicted.
Brigitte Macron herself did not appear at the trial hearings on October but told investigators after filing her complaint that the claim she is a transgender woman has “strongly affected” her and her loved ones.
Tiphaine Auziere, 41, Brigitte Macron’s younger daughter from her first marriage, told the trial in rare public comments that the unsubstantiated claims had harmed the French first lady’s health.
“She’s constantly having to pay attention to what she wears, how she holds herself because she knows that her image can be distorted,” she said.
Prosecutors sought the heaviest sentence against Aurelien Poirson-Atlan, 41, a commentator known on social media as “Zoe Sagan” and often linked to conspiracy theory circles.
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