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The French first lady's child, Tiphaine Auzière, informed a Paris court that inaccurate assertions circulating on the internet—among them the groundless claim that Brigitte Macron had a male birth identity—have negatively impacted her mother's personal well-being.

She, a attorney, was called as a witness in the trial of ten people accused of digital bullying targeting Brigitte Macron.

Effects on Personal Routine

Auzière testified that the first lady now is always concerned about how she looks, including the clothes she wears to the way she carries herself, as a result of the concern that any image might be manipulated to fuel hateful attacks.

"The outcome is that she systematically needs to be careful to what she wears, how she holds herself, no matter what her actions in her daily life," she testified.

Defendants and Allegations

Ten individuals, in that age range, are on trial for online harassment. A few had a small social media following, while the rest were more visible.

Each one is accused of spreading defamatory content about the first lady's gender and sexuality. For some, this included equating her age difference with her husband to hurtful comparisons.

If convicted, they face a maximum of two years in prison.

Family Impact

She, a family member from her mother's first marriage, described how the false claims have resulted in a "worsening of her physical state" and a "decline of her overall existence".

She testified, "Not a day goes by when an individual does not talk the issue to her."

She highlighted the impact on her relatives, for example the kids hearing false assertions like "She is deceptive" or "Your grandmother was born male".

"She is unsure how to stop it," she remarked. "She's not elected, she never asked for any of this, and she is continually facing this abuse."

Court Case Background

The Paris trial is the latest phase in a wider judicial fight against the false claim that Brigitte Macron is supposedly male.

The couple have also filed a US lawsuit for defamation against a conservative podcaster who amplified the allegation.

The legal filing asserts that the accusation is totally unfounded and points out that the name mentioned is actually her brother.

Defendants' Responses

In court, some of the accused rejected the accusations.

• A retired business owner, serving as a local official, asserted he "did not mean to inflict damage" and referred to his posts as humorous.
• A fiction writer stated that his social media shares were intended as "humor" and highlighted apprehension that the trial could undermine "the right to speak freely".
• An art gallery owner testified he shared information since he thought it was an international matter with "consequences for France".

Past Context

The inaccurate claim about the first lady's sex spread partly because their union has often been a point of interest online.

The first lady, who is two decades older than Emmanuel Macron, originally knew Emmanuel Macron when she was a educator at his school.

The connection between them grew through the school's theatre programme, and they wed in the following year, after Brigitte Macron's divorce.

Auzière concluded her statement by stating that the inaccurate allegations have caused a "chaos that never stops" for the first lady.