A Paris criminal court has found ten people guilty of cyber-bullying Brigitte Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, following a coordinated online campaign that spread malicious and false information regarding her identity.
The ruling, delivered on Monday, January 5, 2026, concludes a significant legal battle aimed at curbing the spread of gender-based disinformation and harassment against public figures.
Okay News reports that the defendants, comprising eight men and two women, were accused of circulating baseless conspiracy theories claiming the First Lady was a transgender woman born as a man. The court also noted that the group made “particularly degrading and insulting” remarks, including attempts to link the couple’s 24-year age gap to illegal conduct.
The judge emphasized that the repeated publications had a “cumulative harmful effect” on the victim and her family.
Sentences handed down by the court ranged from mandatory cyber-bullying awareness training to eight-month suspended prison terms. One defendant, a property developer who failed to attend the trial, was sentenced to six months of immediate imprisonment. Several of the convicted individuals, including a publicist and a self-proclaimed medium, also faced six-month suspensions of their social media accounts.
While some defendants argued that their posts were intended as “humor or satire,” the court rejected these claims, ruling that their actions were driven by a clear desire to cause harm. The First Lady, who previously stated she wished to “set an example” in the fight against online harassment, is also pursuing a major defamation lawsuit in the United States against right-wing influencer Candace Owens over similar allegations.
