PARIS: Ten folks will stand trial in Paris on Monday (Oct 27) and Tuesday for the alleged cyber-harassment of France’s first girl, Brigitte Macron, within the newest authorized motion sparked by false claims that she is a transgender girl who was born a person.
The eight males and two ladies, aged 41 to 60, being tried in a Paris felony court docket, are accused of creating quite a few malicious feedback about Brigitte Macron’s gender and sexuality, even equating her age distinction together with her husband to “paedophilia”.
If convicted, they withstand two years in jail.
“These are tweets, posts that may be thought-about as harassment of Brigitte Macron,” Carlo Brusa, one of many defendants’ attorneys, mentioned, including that his consumer was “serene”.
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS TWEETED THE CLAIMS
“He’s a part of lots of of hundreds, presumably thousands and thousands of people that tweeted and re-tweeted this story thought-about as extraordinary – although much less humorous for Mrs Macron – a narrative identified worldwide,” he added.
Unsubstantiated claims over Brigitte Macron’s gender have additionally been gaining floor in the US, the place Brigitte Macron and President Emmanuel Macron filed a defamation lawsuit in July towards right-wing influencer and podcaster Candace Owens, centred on her declare that France’s first girl was born male.
The false claims – which say that Brigitte Macron, 72, was born underneath the identify Jean-Michel Trogneux, the precise identify of her older brother – have lengthy focused the presidential couple, alongside criticism of their 24-year age hole.
The French first girl filed a grievance in August 2024 that led to an investigation into cyber-harassment and arrests in December 2024 and February 2025.
Brigitte Macron’s lawyer couldn’t be instantly reached for remark, whereas the presidential workplace declined to remark.
In September, Brigitte Macron received a lawsuit in a French court docket towards two ladies, together with a self-described medium, who contributed to spreading rumours about her gender.
An appeals court docket overturned that call in July, and Brigitte Macron has appealed to France’s highest court docket.
