In Paris, on October 27 and 28, 2025, the criminal court is judging ten people for sexist cyberharassment. This harassment targets Brigitte Macron, the French First Lady. At the heart of the case, a transphobic rumor spread online. It originated from an absurd mention on impots.gouv.fr. Then, it was relayed through videos and hashtags. The hearing aims to clarify the responsibilities and methods of a digital witch hunt. Opinion has overshadowed facts. It must also analyze the concrete effects of this situation.
Brigitte Macron Rumor: The Facts, Without the Noise
The wife of the head of state, Brigitte Macron, is at the center of a cyberharassment trial. This trial targeting Brigitte Macron opens in Paris. It will take place on October 27 and 28, 2025. Ten people with diverse profiles, from a publicist to a self-proclaimed medium, are being prosecuted for their actions. A local elected official is also involved in this case. They fueled and relayed a transphobic hoax on social networks. This hoax directly targeted the First Lady. In the background: a rumor born in France, relocated to the United States, then returned amplified, through videos and hashtags.
An Opening Scene: Civil Status Goes Off the Rails
A few years ago, Tristan Bromet, chief of staff to Brigitte Macron, recounts a scene that became emblematic of the drift: when logging into her personal space on impots.gouv.fr, the First Lady sees the strange mention: "Jean-Michel said Brigitte Macron". Shock. The manipulation is impossible on the user side, yet a complaint follows to understand the origin of this anomaly. The investigation aims to identify the actors.
The episode was recently detailed in a television document, highlighting important aspects. An administrative error (or sabotage) can serve as a trigger for unfounded theories.
From Long Video to Courtroom: Express Chronology
December 10, 2021: a YouTube video of nearly four hours popularizes the thesis, two faces emerge, Amandine Roy and Natacha Rey. The hashtag #JeanMichelTrogneux spreads and the frenzy follows.
September 12, 2024: in first instance, the Paris criminal court convicts the two women for defamation.
July 10, 2025: acquittal on appeal. The judges consider that some of the highlighted passages do not exceed the bounds of good faith. Moreover, these passages do not fall within the legal definition of an attack on honor.
Mid-July 2025: appeal to the Supreme Court announced by the Macron camp.
October 27–28, 2025: a new judicial front opens, as ten defendants are accused of online and sexist cyberharassment. The rumor migrated from "investigative" videos to coordinated campaigns of online attacks.
Who Is on the Defendants’ Bench?
Among the ten, there is Aurélien Poirson-Atlan, a publicist, known online under the pseudonym "Zoé Sagan", identified as one of the vectors of a narrative mixing insinuations and montages. Other names have circulated for months in the proceedings: activist relays, intermittent conspiracy theorists, local personalities who have retweeted, commented, pinned. All benefit from the presumption of innocence.
The qualification of cyberharassment targets less an isolated phrase than a sequence: the repetition, the cohort of messages, and the stigmatizing intent. Here, the target: the gender and personal life of Brigitte Macron, a pretext for mockery and defamatory accusations.
Case Judged in Paris and American Echo: When the Rumor Takes Flight
The case crossed the Atlantic. In the United States, Candace Owens (defamation aspect in the United States), an influencer and podcaster, dedicated a series ("Becoming Brigitte") to these allegations, even prompting a defamation lawsuit filed in **Delaware by Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron. The lawyers mention "photographic and scientific evidence" (civil status records, family photos, medical elements) to debunk the conspiratorial narrative. The American legal battle continues.
How the Brigitte Macron Hoax Spread
The modus operandi is now well known. Videos "discover" coincidences. Additionally, photos are edited or taken out of context. Then, quotes are truncated. Finally, suspicions are presented as evidence. One meme follows another, the algorithm does the rest.
Successive fact-checks have established that several viral contents were falsified. Example: a doctored photo showing a young man presented as "Brigitte Macron in her youth"; the original actually comes from an image bank and has no connection to the First Lady.
Paris Court Hearing: What the Hearings Reveal
At the hearing, the court examines the volume, frequency, and reach of the publications. The brigade for the repression of delinquency against persons traced the waves of messages. The investigation identified peaks synchronized with the release of episodes or "investigations". Moreover, it established links with the pro-Trump ecosystem.
The civil parties emphasize the sexist nature of the attacks. These include reduction to the body, gender, and stereotype. Additionally, they highlight the duration of the harassment and its effects: damage to dignity, threats, and stress. The defense argues for freedom of expression and the right to question public figures. It also mentions the disassociation from a flood of comments. According to them, they only quoted or relayed them.
Judicial Context: What Has Already Been Judged
The defamation episode provided a double lesson. In 2024, the conviction in the first instance marked a red line. The court thus set this limit on the repetition of unproven allegations. In 2025, the acquittal on appeal reminded of a crucial point. The proof of defamation, under French law, requires crossing a specific threshold. This threshold is the imputation of a determined fact damaging to honor. However, this was not retained in the end for several passages of the video. The appeal will decide the law, not the hashtags.
The Core Debate: Freedom of Expression, Respect for Individuals
On social networks, freedom of expression is often advanced as a shield. The law, however, draws two limits: the prohibition of defamation and the repression of harassment. This case highlights the boundary between criticism and sanction. It is not about preventing the criticism of a public figure. However, it aims to sanction the repeated targeting of a person based on their identity, often fueled by false or degrading content.
Caution is required: trans people are not the rumor. The instrumentalization of transgender identity for purposes of humiliation is unacceptable. It falls under a discriminatory register. This has no place in democratic debate.
How the Rumor Thrives
- An "administrative" spark: an absurd label that appears in an online space, taken as an indicator.
- A long-format "revelation": hours of video, supported by false leads.
- Relays: high-audience accounts, conspiracy media sphere, and snowball effect.
- Doctored images: montages, croppings, morphings, and sometimes AI to "confirm".
- Monetization: audience, merchandise, subscriptions, donations.
What Do the Defendants Risk?
The maximum penalty for online moral harassment related to sex or gender identity is severe. It can go up to two years of imprisonment and a fine. The ceilings are increased in case of aggravating circumstances. The court will assess case by case the degree of participation: author, accomplice, relay.
What Are the Macrons Pleading?
The lawyers of the First Lady and the presidential couple emphasize:
- The falsity of the allegations (civil status, family photos, consistent testimonies).
- The harm of prolonged online and sexist harassment, up to intimidation.
- The existence of an audience system and profits tied to disinformation in France.
And Now?
This Parisian trial must document the mechanisms and responsibilities in the dissemination chain: who creates, who orchestrates, who relays? The magistrates will rule on the law, but the decision will not address a supposed "hidden truth". It will rather evaluate behaviors according to the law.
In parallel, the American procedure will continue its course, with its specific rules and a symbolic stake: reminding that reputation is not a commodity and that privacy is not a stage.