Ten found guilty of online harassment directed at Brigitte Macron

A court in Paris has found guilty ten people for engaging in the cyber-bullying of Brigitte Macron, the spouse of the President of France, Emmanuel Macron.

The accused individuals faced accusations of circulating false claims regarding her gender identity and sexuality, in addition to posting malicious remarks about the husband and wife's significant age difference.

The court issued suspended jail terms of a maximum of eight months to the convicted individuals. The detailed judgment has yet to be released.

A circulating unfounded claim alleging that Brigitte Macron is a trans woman has spread widely since her husband's initial election in 2017.

This Monday's court decision in France is concurrent with the Macrons initiating a defamation lawsuit in the United States against political commentator Candace Owens, who has likewise promoted similar conspiracy theories about the Brigitte Macron's gender.

Their lawsuit alleges that Owens disregarded substantial counter-evidence contradicting her allegations choosing instead to give a platform to established defamers.

Owens has regularly repeated these claims on her digital program and social media channels, and in March 2024 declared that she would risk all her credibility on her conviction that Mrs. Macron is biologically male.

Brigitte Macron initially encountered her future husband when she was a teacher at his high school.

The pair tied the knot in 2007, when the future French president was 29 and she was 54.