{"id":2347,"date":"2026-03-07T16:46:59","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T16:46:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sebastien-auziere.fr\/blog\/?p=2347"},"modified":"2026-03-07T16:48:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T16:48:05","slug":"sales-connes-the-collective-that-filed-a-complaint-against-brigitte-macron-denounces-a-gagging-procedure-and-launches-a-crowdfunding-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sebastien-auziere.fr\/blog\/en\/sales-connes-the-collective-that-filed-a-complaint-against-brigitte-macron-denounces-a-gagging-procedure-and-launches-a-crowdfunding-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00ab\u00a0Sales connes\u00a0\u00bb : the collective that filed a complaint against Brigitte Macron denounces a gagging procedure and launches a crowdfunding campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"

The essentials: the Montpellier-based association les Tricoteuses hyst\u00e9riques<\/strong> filed a complaint in December 2025 against Brigitte Macron for public insult<\/strong>, after the First Lady referred to feminist activists of #NousToutes as \u00ab\u00a0dirty cunts.\u00a0\u00bb For this complaint to be examined by an investigating judge, the collective \u2014 which calls itself the \u00ab\u00a0343 insulted\u00a0\u00bb<\/strong> \u2014 must pay a deposit of 8,550 euros<\/strong>. Unable to raise this sum, the association denounces this as an attempt at legal intimidation and has launched a crowdfunding campaign to finance the procedure.<\/p>\n

Can one afford to defend oneself in court when one does not have the means? This is the question posed by the feminist activists from Montpellier’s Tricoteuses hyst\u00e9riques, confronted with a financial barrier<\/strong> at the heart of a matter that far exceeds their own collective. Their complaint against Brigitte Macron for public insult is at the center of a legal showdown that raises fundamental questions about women’s access to justice<\/strong> and the risk of gag orders.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The origin of the case: the viral video and the \u00ab\u00a0dirty cunts\u00a0\u00bb<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. The complaint for public insult: who are the \u00ab\u00a0343 insulted\u00a0\u00bb?<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. The deposit of 8,550 euros: a costly justice?<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. What the activists denounce: a gag order<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. The crowdfunding and the continuation of the procedure<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. A symbol of women’s obstacles in the face of justice<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The origin of the case: the viral video and the \u00ab\u00a0dirty cunts\u00a0\u00bb<\/h2>\n

    It all began at the end of 2025, with the dissemination of a video that quickly became viral on social media. In it, Brigitte Macron calls feminist activists<\/strong> from the #NousToutes movement \u00ab\u00a0dirty cunts\u00a0\u00bb while they were demonstrating against a show by comedian Ary Abittan.<\/p>\n

    The context: Ary Abittan and the dismissal that does not close the debate<\/h3>\n

    Ary Abittan was granted a dismissal in a case of alleged rape. But for the activists of #NousToutes and for the Tricoteuses hyst\u00e9riques, a dismissal does not mean established innocence \u2014 it means that the evidence gathered was insufficient to bring the case to trial. Their presence at the venue of the show was aimed at publicly expressing this disagreement and reminding of the voices of the presumed victims.<\/p>\n

    It is in this tense context that Brigitte Macron, filmed either knowingly or not, uttered those words against the protesters. For the activists, this insult hurled by the First Lady of France, implicitly supporting a man accused of rape<\/strong>, is much more than a verbal slip.<\/p>\n

    The complaint for public insult: who are the \u00ab\u00a0343 insulted\u00a0\u00bb?<\/h2>\n

    In December 2025, the Montpellier-based association les Tricoteuses hyst\u00e9riques<\/strong> filed a complaint against Brigitte Macron for public insult<\/strong>. The collective of plaintiffs calls itself the \u00ab\u00a0343 insulted\u00a0\u00bb \u2014 a direct reference to the famous \u00ab\u00a0Manifesto of the 343\u00a0\u00bb of 1971, signed by women claiming their right to abortion.<\/p>\n

    The legal qualification retained<\/h3>\n

    For the plaintiffs, Brigitte Macron’s remarks are not merely a private opinion. Filmed and widely disseminated, the sequence constitutes, according to them, \u00ab\u00a0a public insult directed at women engaged against sexual violence\u00a0\u00bb<\/strong>. Public insult, as defined by the 1881 law on press freedom, is an offensive, contemptuous, or invective expression that does not involve the accusation of a specific fact, directed at a person or a group.<\/p>\n

    For the justice to examine our complaint, we must pay. The greatest of inequalities is played out here.
    \n
    \u2014 Vigdis Morisse Herrera, president of the Tricoteuses hyst\u00e9riques<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    The deposit of 8,550 euros: a costly justice?<\/h2>\n

    To avoid the automatic classification of a simple complaint as closed, the activists chose to file their complaint with civil party constitution<\/strong>. This procedure allows direct access to an investigating judge and avoids the prosecution from dismissing the case without examination. But it comes at a cost.<\/p>\n

    How does the deposit work?<\/h3>\n

    When a complaint is filed with civil party constitution, the investigating judge sets a deposit<\/strong> amount \u2014 a sum of money that the plaintiffs must pay to cover potential procedural costs. This mechanism is intended to prevent abusive complaints. In the case of the \u00ab\u00a0343 insulted,\u00a0\u00bb this amount has been set at 8,550 euros<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    For an activist association like the Tricoteuses hyst\u00e9riques, this sum is out of reach. It represents a concrete and immediate obstacle<\/strong> to accessing the investigating judge \u2014 that is, the simple possibility of having their complaint examined.<\/p>\n