Brigitte Macron won a significant victory. This Thursday, September 12, 2024, the Paris Criminal Court sentenced two women for spreading a “terrible” rumor about him. This widely anticipated legal decision puts an end to a case which sparked strong reactions. The two accused, one presenting herself as an independent journalist under the name "Natacha Rey" and the other as a medium under the pseudonym "Amandine Roy", were found guilty of complicity in public defamation. They were ordered to pay a suspended fine of 500 euros, according to AFP. In addition, they will have to pay 8,000 euros in damages to Brigitte Macron and 5,000 euros to her brother, Jean-Michel Trogneux. As reported by CNews, this duo risked up to a year of imprisonment and a fine of 4,000 euros for their actions. It should be remembered that this highly publicized trial was held last June, without the presence of the first lady, who was also not present when the verdict was announced today. A situation which underlines the importance of this judgment in the fight against disinformation and unfounded attacks. In 2021, the two defendants launched a YouTube channel to spread false information about the alleged transidentity of Brigitte Macron. They claimed, without the slightest foundation, that the mother of Tiphaine, Laurence and Sébastien was in reality her brother, Jean-Michel Trogneux, who supposedly changed his sex and marital status! To support their delusional claims, they distributed photos of the Macron clan, claiming to highlight the multiple cosmetic surgery procedures that Jean-Michel would have undergone to become a woman. This crazy theory emerged seven years after the 2017 presidential election, won by Emmanuel Macron. The viral spread of these alarming rumors led Brigitte Macron, the former wife of André-Louis Auzière, to file a complaint for defamation in 2022. “If I do nothing when I have been fighting against harassment for four years, I won't be audible," she declared with regret on RTL that same year. She also expressed her concern about the attacks on her family dignity, testifying: "At one point, I realized that they were upsetting my genealogy... I was my brother. There, we touch to the genealogy of my parents." These statements reveal the devastating impact these rumors can have on a person's personal and family life, especially when the misinformation becomes so widespread. Questioned by journalists in March about this vast conspiracy theory, Emmanuel Macron did not hesitate to express his indignation: "The worst thing is false information and created scenarios. People end up believing in it and that touches you, including in your privacy." His words resonate as a call for vigilance in the face of misinformation and the harmful consequences it can have in the lives of individuals.