Brigitte Macron's daughter has told a court in Paris that sexist cyber-bullying negatively affected her mother's health and living conditions.

Tiphaine Auzière, 41, is the step-daughter of French President Emmanuel Macron. She took the stand on the second and final day of the trial of 10 people accused of spreading unsubstantiated claims over Brigitte Macron's gender and sexuality.

Mrs. Macron, 72, has long been the target of conspiracy theories which allege she is a transgender woman.

It is important to be here today to express the harm my mother has faced. I wanted to give an account of what her life has been like since the moment she started being targeted by these attacks, Ms. Auzière said.

She added she had noticed a change and a deterioration in her mother's health since claims around her gender and sexuality began swirling.

Mrs. Macron has had to be careful about her choices of outfits, of posture... She knows perfectly well that her image will be used to back these theories, Ms. Auzière said.

She noted that not a day went by without the claims being reported to her mother, even by well-meaning individuals.

While her mother had learned to live with it, Ms. Auzière said the bullying also affected her grandchildren who faced taunts at school.

She hasn't been elected, she hasn't asked anything of anyone, and she comes under attack, Auzière remarked.

Prosecutors are seeking suspended prison terms ranging from three to twelve months for the accused, with potential fines up to €8,000 ($9,300).

Among the defendants are an elected official, a gallery owner, and a teacher, with one accused of publicly asserting that Mrs. Macron is a transgender woman.

Some defendants have claimed they were merely exercising their freedom of expression. The Macron family plans to use photographic and scientific evidence to counter these claims in ongoing legal challenges against those promoting the conspiracy theories.

Brigitte Macron, who first met Emmanuel Macron when she was his teacher, married him in 2007 when he was 29 and she was 54.