Paris
—
The daughter of French first lady Brigitte Macron advised a Paris courtroom on Tuesday that her mom now suffers from “deep anxiety” due to false claims about her gender.
Tiphaine Auzière, 41, mentioned it was necessary for her to testify on the trial, at which ten individuals are accused of on-line harassment of the 72-year-old first lady for spreading what prosecutors described as “malicious comments” about her gender and sexuality.
“There isn’t a single week when she isn’t harassed, not one person in her personal or professional life fails to bring up these allegations,” Auzière mentioned.
She described how her mom is continually having to concentrate to what she wears or how she carries herself for concern that any picture of her could also be “distorted” and weaponized on-line. The cyberbullying has taken a toll on Brigitte Macron’s psychological well being, Auzière mentioned, including that this “deterioration” is supported by medical assessments.
“She reads the tweets that are shown to her, but she no longer wants to,” Auzière added.
The youngest of Brigitte Macron’s three youngsters, from her first marriage to André-Louis Auzière, mentioned the assaults have additionally deeply affected the remainder of the household. Her mom is devastated that “her grandchildren hear what is being said,” and “doesn’t know how to make it stop,” she defined.
The case pertains to a authorized criticism filed by the first lady’s lawyer in August 2024 alleging cyberbullying, which led to 2 waves of arrests in February and March of 2025.
Initial investigations recognized a number of claims about Brigitte Macron’s gender and sexuality, in addition to describing the age distinction between her and the president as “pedophilia,” the prosecutor mentioned. The trial is anticipated to final two days, and a verdict is prone to be issued later.
Among the eight males and two ladies on trial are an elected official, a gallery proprietor, an IT specialist, a trainer, a property supervisor and a enterprise proprietor. All are aged between 41 and 60. NCS affiliate BFMTV supplied particulars on one of many defendants: 41-year-old promoting govt Aurélien Poirson-Atlan, who makes use of the pseudonym “Zoé Sagan” on social media. His X account, which has since been suspended, has been the topic of a number of complaints and is commonly linked to conspiracy theorists.
If convicted, the defendants withstand two years in jail.
The trial comes three months after Macron and his spouse filed a 22-count defamation lawsuit within the US state of Delaware towards right-wing podcaster Candace Owens over the declare that Brigitte Macron may very well be a man.
The Delaware lawsuit alleges Owens broadcast “a relentless year-long campaign of defamation against the Macrons.”
In March, the conservative commentator revived a conspiracy principle in a YouTube video entitled “Is France’s First Lady a Man?” based on the criticism. Promoted extensively on X, Owens mentioned the conspiracy principle was “likely the biggest scandal in political history.”
Since then, Owens has produced quite a few movies about Brigitte Macron for her almost 4.5 million YouTube subscribers, together with a multi-part collection referred to as “Becoming Brigitte.”