Ten individuals accused of harassing Brigitte Macron, the spouse of French President Emmanuel Macron, will stand trial in Paris at present, as a part of a case the couple introduced towards people who they declare unfold false allegations that the French first woman was born a person.
The French trial — which pertains to a authorized criticism filed by Brigitte in 2024 — is separate from a lawsuit the Macrons filed within the U.S. in July towards right-wing political podcaster Candace Owens, who the couple claims used the hearsay about Brigitte’s organic intercourse to bolster her reputation.
President of France Emmanuel Macron and his spouse Brigitte Macron arrive in Downing Road, London, on day two of their state go to to the UK. Image date: Wednesday July 9, 2025.
Picture cStefan Rousseau/PA Wire
The Macrons mentioned in a lawsuit filed in Delaware Superior Courtroom that Owens has waged a lie-filled “marketing campaign of worldwide humiliation” and “relentless bullying” to advertise her podcast and increase her “frenzied” fan base.
In the meantime, in Paris, eight males and two girls between the ages of 41 and 60 started their trial in legal court docket, all accused of on-line harassment focusing on Macron.
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If discovered responsible, they withstand two years in jail.
In accordance with The Guardian, prosecutors say the defendants — all of whom deny the accusations — made a number of malicious feedback about Brigitte’s gender and sexuality, and allegedly mentioned the age distinction between her and her husband equates to pedophilia.
Brigitte is 72, and her husband is 47.
Brigitte Macron was often known as Brigitte Auzière, a 39-year-old married mom of three, when she met a 15-year-old Macron whereas he was a pupil at the highschool the place she taught.
He moved to Paris for his final 12 months of highschool, however promised to marry Brigitte. She later moved to the French capital to affix him, and divorced earlier than they lastly married in 2007, when he was 30.
The allegations about her intercourse date again to fringe on-line discourse from the COVID-19 pandemic, when French content material creators Amandine Roy — who’s among the many defendants — and Natacha Rey made a YouTube video speculating about Brigitte’s intercourse.
In 2021, Roy posted the prolonged interview with Rey, a self-proclaimed unbiased journalist, alleging that Macron, whose delivery identify is Trogneux, was as soon as a person named Jean-Michel Trogneux.
The couple gained a defamation lawsuit in France towards Roy and Rey in 2024, however the verdict was overturned in 2025 on grounds of freedom of expression.
A girl named Aurélien Poirson-Atlan, a publicist who goes by the identify “Zoé Sagan,” can be among the many accused.
In August, as a part of the U.S. lawsuit towards Owens, the Macrons mentioned they’d be submitting scientific proof to a U.S. court docket proving that Brigitte was born a feminine.
In March 2024, Owens wrote on X, “I stake my complete skilled status on the truth that Brigitte Macron is in truth a person.”
FILE – Conservative commentator Candace Owens speaks on the Conference of the Proper in Paris on Sept. 28, 2019. (AP Picture/Michel Euler, File).
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In an interview with conservative influencer Tucker Carlson earlier this 12 months, Owens mentioned she didn’t need the case to be dismissed as a result of it was about one thing “a lot greater.”
“It’s extremely upsetting to assume that you must go and topic your self, to place this kind of proof ahead,” the Macrons’ lawyer, Tom Clare, informed the BBC in September, in response to the case towards Owens.
Brigitte has not spoken publicly on the allegation since 2022.
— With information from International Information reporter Katie Scott
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