Ten people accused of cyberbullying Brigitte Macron are going on trial in Paris after allegedly making “malicious” comments claiming the French first lady is a man.
Emmanuel Macron‘s wife has long been the subject of conspiracy theories saying she was born a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux (her brother’s name), and took the name Brigitte as a transgender woman.
Eight men and two women are accused of making posts repeating the claims, as well as others about her sexuality and mentioning the 24-year age gap to her husband as “paedophilia”.
The accused are between 41 and 60 and include a teacher, computer scientist, an elected official, and a woman who presents herself as a medium and advertising executive.
The trial, due to begin Monday, is expected to last two days and comes after the Macrons filed a defamation case in the US this summer over conservative influencer Candace Owens repeating the claims.
The French president has claimed that taking legal action against Ms Owens was about “defending his honour”,
Mrs Macron and her brother won also another French defamation case last year against two women who were initially ordered to pay damages and a fine.
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However, the decision was overturned and Mrs Macron and her brother have appealed to France’s highest court.
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The Macrons met at a secondary school where Brigitte was teaching when Emmanuel was 15. They married in 2007 and Mr Macron became president in 2017.
Earlier this year, the first lady was caught on camera pushing her husband in the face as he prepared to get off a plane.
Mr Macron later said it was a case of “simply joking with my wife as we often do”.
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The trial also comes as France deals with an ongoing political crisis that saw its prime minister resign only to be reappointed days later, as well as continuing attention over the audacious robbery of jewels from the Louvre.
