(LifeSiteNews) — Ten people have been found guilty of cyberbullying in France for stating online that Brigitte Macron, spouse of French President Emmanuel Macron, is a man.
The defendants, eight men and two women were convicted for spreading “false” claims that Brigitte is a man, and for making “malicious” remarks about the Macrons, according to the BBC.
Most of these French citizens received suspended jail sentences of up to eight months while one was jailed for six months without suspension. Five have been banned from posting on the social media platform they used to make remarks about Brigitte. Defendants have also been served fines and mandatory cyber-harassment courses.
Two of the defendants, independent journalist Natacha Rey and internet fortune-teller Amandine Roy, were convicted of slander in 2024 for claiming that Brigitte Macron is in fact Jean-Michel Trogneux, said publicly to be her brother, who changed his sex presentation and started using the name Brigitte.
They were cleared on appeal. The appeals court argued that saying someone had “changed” their sex was not necessarily an “attack on their honor.” The Macrons are now challenging that case, taking it to France’s high court of appeals.
Bertrand Scholler, 55, a gallerist and writer, told reporters at court that he would appeal his six-month suspended jail sentence.
“This is horrible. It’s abominable,” he said. “This shows just how far French society is drifting toward less freedom of speech. Freedom of speech no longer exists.”
The convictions follow a defamation lawsuit filed by the Macrons in Delaware against American commentator Candace Owens, alleging she knowingly spread “demonstrably false” claims that the French first lady was born a man and groomed Emmanuel Macron.
Owens, a former Daily Wire host, claimed in her “Becoming Brigitte” investigative series that Brigitte Macron was born Jean-Michel Trogneux, “stole another person’s identity,” and underwent a “gender transition” before marrying Emmanuel Macron in 2007.
“I would stake my entire professional reputation on the fact that Brigitte Macron is in fact a man,” Owens has said on X. “The implications here are terrifying.”
Not long before the lawsuit was filed, Owens claimed that she was personally asked by U.S. President Donald Trump to stop speaking about Brigitte after being told that Macron brought up the subject with Trump while discussing Russia-Ukraine peace talks.
Brigitte was 40 when she reportedly first met 15-year-old Emmanuel as his schoolteacher.
Why did he send me the legal letter?
1) Because Brigitte can STILL be prosecuted for this crime against a minor up until the end of this year.
2) Because his marriage was an illegal act. Emmanuel Macron broke the law when he married his groomer. https://t.co/jsESAeCJul https://t.co/FwnuZ0QZCT— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) February 18, 2025
As evidence for her claim, Owens has cited many unusual findings, including that of an artificial intelligence facial recognition system that indicates there is a “high” likelihood that Jean-Michel Trogneux, as captured in a childhood photo, is the same person as “Brigitte Macron.” By contrast, the alleged First Communion photo of Brigitte, when compared with adult photos of her, is deemed to be of “low” likelihood that it depicts the same person.
Owens said the findings of her investigation into the Macrons go far beyond the biological sex of Brigitte and the couple’s alleged deception regarding Brigitte’s gender. Owens said she has found evidence that indicates Emmanuel Macron was groomed by his own grandmother as well as Brigitte. This together with Emmanuel Macron’s career help from the Rothschilds and ties to the banking family raises questions as to who is really running France, says Owens.
Earlier in 2025, Tucker Carlson and former U.S. Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò agreed with Candace Owens’ assertion that Emmanuel Macron is married to a man.
“She is right,” Carlson said of Owens during a podcast.
After the blasphemous opening ceremonies at the Paris Olympics in 2024, Viganò issued a statement accusing Brigitte of being a man.
“It is no coincidence that the one sponsoring this revolving cardinal is an emissary of the World Economic Forum, Emanuel Macron, who passes off a transvestite as his own wife with impunity,” he said.
