Copyright Cable News Network
The daughter of French first lady Brigitte Macron told a Paris court on Tuesday that her mother now suffers from “deep anxiety” because of false claims about her gender. Tiphaine Auzière, 41, said it was important for her to testify at the trial, at which ten people are accused of online 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 said. She described how her mother is constantly having to pay attention to what she wears or how she carries herself for fear that any image of her may be “distorted” and weaponized online. The cyberbullying has taken a toll on Brigitte Macron’s mental health, Auzière said, adding 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 children, from her first marriage to André-Louis Auzière, said the attacks have also deeply affected the rest of the family. Her mother is devastated that “her grandchildren hear what is being said,” and “doesn’t know how to make it stop,” she explained. The case relates to a legal complaint filed by the first lady’s lawyer in August 2024 alleging cyberbullying, which led to two waves of arrests in February and March of 2025. Initial investigations identified several claims about Brigitte Macron’s gender and sexuality, as well as describing the age difference between her and the president as “pedophilia,” the prosecutor said. The trial is expected to last two days, and a verdict is likely to be issued later. Among the eight men and two women on trial are an elected official, a gallery owner, an IT specialist, a teacher, a property manager and a business owner. All are aged between 41 and 60. CNN affiliate BFMTV provided details on one of the defendants: 41-year-old advertising executive Aurélien Poirson-Atlan, who uses the pseudonym “Zoé Sagan” on social media. His X account, which has since been suspended, has been the subject of several complaints and is often linked to conspiracy theorists. If convicted, the defendants face up to two years in prison. The trial comes three months after Macron and his wife filed a 22-count defamation lawsuit in the US state of Delaware against right-wing podcaster Candace Owens over the claim that Brigitte Macron could 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 theory in a YouTube video entitled “Is France’s First Lady a Man?” according to the complaint. Promoted widely on X, Owens said the conspiracy theory was “likely the biggest scandal in political history.” Since then, Owens has produced numerous videos about Brigitte Macron for her nearly 4.5 million YouTube subscribers, including a multi-part series called “Becoming Brigitte.”
