The daughter of Brigitte Macron is to testify on Tuesday, October 28, on the second day of the trial of 10 people accused of cyber-harassing the French first lady over unsubstantiated gender claims.
The trial comes after President Emmanuel Macron and his wife filed a defamation lawsuit in the United States at the end of July, in connection with a false claim amplified and repeated online that Brigitte Macron was assigned male at birth.
The claim has long targeted the presidential couple, alongside criticism of their quarter-century age gap. The first lady, 72, has not attended the Paris trial of 10 defendants – eight men and two women, aged 41 to 65 – accused of harassing her online, who if convicted face up to two years in prison.
Brigitte Macron told investigators the rumor had greatly impacted her and her family, especially her grandchildren who were told their grandmother was a man. The first lady's lawyer had asked Brigitte Macron's daughter Tiphaine Auzière to testify.
The French first lady filed a complaint in August 2024 that led to an investigation into cyber-harassment and arrests in December 2024 and February 2025.
Among the defendants is Aurelien Poirson-Atlan, 41, a publicist known on social media as "Zoe Sagan" and often linked with conspiracy theory circles, who claimed on the sidelines of the trial on Monday that he was the one being harassed. He was also to speak on Tuesday.
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