French Gallerist Found Guilty of Cyberbullying Brigitte Macron
Bertrand Scholler was among 10 brought to court for promoting a conspiracy theory that the first lady was assigned male at birth.
Bertrand Scholler was among 10 brought to court for promoting a conspiracy theory that the first lady was assigned male at birth.
Art dealer Bertrand Scholler arriving for his trial in Paris on October 27, 2025, with nine others accused of cyber-harassment of Brigitte Macron. (photo by Guillaume Baptiste/AFP) via Getty Images)
A Parisian court has found 10 individuals, including a French gallerist, guilty of cyberbullying France’s First Lady Brigitte Macron in a crackdown against a widespread conspiracy that she was assigned male at birth.
Among the individuals convicted on Monday, December 5, was 56-year-old art dealer Bertrand Scholler, who is listed as an owner of the gallery 55 Bellechasse, blocks from the Rodin Museum in Paris's 7th arrondissement. The group reportedly faced charges stemming from social media posts supporting a claim that Macron was born a man by the name Jean-Michel Trogneux, which is actually her elder brother's name.
According to Le Monde, the court cited "particularly degrading, insulting, and malicious" comments as impetus for the charges. Some of the comments reportedly scrutinized Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron's relationship as stemming from pedophilia, pointing to the fact that the 15-year-old future president met his wife-to-be when she was his 39-year-old drama teacher. Scholler, along with other defendants, was ordered to suspend his social media accounts for six months. Each of the convicted individuals was reportedly fined €600 (~$700), and the group must pay a combined total of €10,000 ($12,000) to Brigitte Macron.
According to the New York Times, defendants said during their trials that they had intended to joke about the matter, and others claimed their statements were justified as legitimate debate.
The ruling comes as the Macrons also pursue a defamation case against the right-wing podcaster and conspiracy theorist Candace Owens in a Delaware court, related to her promotion of the theory that Brigitte Macron was born male. The Macrons have to present DNA evidence that the first lady was born female.