According to Euronews, the defendants faced serious accusations, including sexist and transphobic remarks. At the center of the scandal were posts and videos claiming that Brigitte Macron was born a "man" and is actually her brother, Jean-Michel Tronier.
These rumors began to spread in 2017 and resonated both in France and beyond.
The hearings started on October 27, and most of the defendants claimed that their posts were jokes or comments on other posts. Many of them shared only a limited number of posts with a small audience.
Although Brigitte Macron, who does not have an account on social media platform X, did not attend the hearing, her interests were represented by lawyers. In their statement read in court, she described the attacks as "odious" and noted that she decided to sue due to their "profound impact" on herself and those around her.
Tifenn Ozier, Brigitte's younger daughter and lawyer, appeared in court personally. She shared with the audience how the constant online insults negatively affected her mother's mental and physical well-being. According to her, Brigitte lives in fear that any public appearance could be distorted or ridiculed.
Prosecutors identified three main "instigators" with large accounts and seven "followers" with fewer subscribers. They requested suspended sentences ranging from three to 12 months, as well as fines of up to 8,000 euros for nine defendants.
The most severe sentence was requested for Aurélien Poirson-Atlan, known by the pseudonym Zoe Sagan, who was recognized as one of the main "perpetrators" of spreading fake news.
Brigitte Macron's lawyers demanded compensation of 15,000 euros, arguing that "freedom of expression is not limitless" and that "the right to humor does not justify everything." They also added that Macron reserves the right to take further legal action regarding new attacks online.
