Ten defendants, eight men and two women, aged 41 to 60, are accused of online harassment of Brigitte Macron and face up to two years in prison if convicted. Several defendants in the Paris trial shared content from the American influencer. In one post, one of them claimed that “2,000 people are ready to go door-to-door in Amiens,” the presidential couple’s hometown, “to discover the truth about Brigitte.”
According to prosecutors, the defendants posted numerous malicious comments regarding the first lady's gender and sexuality, with some linking their age difference to "pedophilia."
Brigitte Macron filed a criminal complaint in August 2024, following which investigations and arrests were launched in December 2024 and February 2025. Her lawyer did not respond to AFP's questions and it is not known whether the first lady herself will appear at the hearings.
Among the defendants is Aurelien Poirson-Atlan, a 41-year-old marketing expert known on social media under the pseudonym Zoe Sagan, who is often associated with conspiracy theorist circles.
Also accused is Delphine J., 51, who goes by the name Amandine Roy online. In 2021, she published a four-hour interview with “independent journalist” Natacha Rey on her YouTube channel, in which she claimed that Brigitte Macron, born Trogneux, is actually “Jean-Michel Trogneux,” which is her brother’s given name.
The two women were ordered to pay compensation to Brigitte Macron and her brother in 2024, but the decision was later overturned on appeal. The First Lady has since referred the case to the French Supreme Court.
