Gavin Grey: UK correspondent on Brigitte Macron's online harassment trial getting underway

Ten people went on trial in Paris charged with online harassment of Brigitte Macron over the latest case linked to unsubstantiated gender claims made against the French first lady.

This trial comes after she and President Emmanuel Macron filed a defamation lawsuit in the United States in connection with false claims that Brigitte was born male.

UK correspondent Gavin Grey says Macron's daughter Tiphaine Auziere also testified on her mother's behalf.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Devin Gray UK corresponds with us right now, Hey, Gevin,
hi there So Brigitte Macron's daughter has given evidence.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Yes, yes. In this bizarre case in Paris taking part
where ten people are accused of sexist cyber bullying of
the French president's wife, Brigitte Macron. The defendants are accused
of effectively rumor milling, spreading unsubstantiated claims all about her
gender and sexuality, and making what are called malicious remarks

(00:30):
about the twenty four year age gap between Brigitte and
her husband Emmanuel Macron. The ten people appearing in the
dark art, an elected official, a gallery owner, and a
teacher are among them, and two of them, self styled
independent journalist called Natasha Ray and internet fortune teller a
man Deen Roy were found guilty of slander last year

(00:53):
for claiming that France's first lady had never existed. So
it's quite a group of people. They say, look, it's
for freedom of speech. We've done nothing wrong. The Macrons
saying it's really affected their mental health, and Bridget Macron's
daughter saying it really has taken its toll on her
mother's ill health. Being in the spotlight and having these

(01:14):
accusations thrust at her, and of course separately, they are
also taking a very high profile right wing influencer, Candice
Owens to court over unsubstantiated claims from her about Missus
Macron's gender.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
Now isn't the case that William was the one who
was able to basically get Andrew to agree to move
out of Royal Lodge?

Speaker 2 (01:34):
Well, I think there's now what's being called by my sources,
the longest running bitter sore, bitterest row in the royal
family for many, many years, with both sides now briefing
against one another. The King still wants his brother Prince
Andrew to get out of the thirty one room Windsor

(01:56):
mansion called Royal Lodge in Windsor. And it's this rouse
dragged on for three years now, and apparently things have
got increasingly strained, particularly after of course all the recent revelations,
including just in the last couple of days, a picture
of Gilaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein. All of

(02:20):
those people, of course, now in one way, shape or
form accused of being sort of involved in child abuse
or sexual abuse. Gilaine Maxwell is still in prison, and
those three pictured in Prince Andrew's garden. He had said
it was a garden that he had held a party,
but it was at Windsor Castle. But this shows that

(02:42):
he had hosted them two according to the most recent allegations.
And now we're getting news that Prince William has had
a meeting with Prince Andrew's two daughters, Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice.
They have been allowed to keep their titles, but I
think it's being made quite clear to the to them
that they need to put pressure on their father if

(03:02):
they want to remain as working roles and to keep
those titles. Those are the allegations. Nothing from Prince William.
But it does appear that this bad blood is getting really,
really nasty.

Speaker 1 (03:12):
It does sound a little bit like that. Hey, Gevin,
thanks very much, really appreciated this. Devin Gray, our UK correspondent.

Speaker 2 (03:18):
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