Ten sentenced of cyber-bullying targeting Brigitte Macron

A Paris court has ruled against ten people for engaging in the digital intimidation of Brigitte Macron, the spouse of the President of France, Emmanuel Macron.

The those on trial faced allegations of circulating false claims regarding her gender and sexual orientation, in addition to publishing hurtful comments about the pair's 24-year age gap.

The court issued suspended prison sentences of as much as eight months to the convicted individuals. The complete verdict has not yet been published.

A longstanding conspiracy theory alleging that Brigitte Macron is a trans woman has been in circulation since her husband's first electoral victory in 2017.

This Monday's court decision in France comes as the Macrons pursuing a legal action for defamation in the United States against right-wing influencer Candace Owens, who has repeatedly shared comparable unfounded claims about the French president's wife's identity.

Their lawsuit contends that Owens ignored substantial counter-evidence that refuted her assertions in favour of amplify the voices of notorious conspiracy peddlers.

Owens has regularly repeated these assertions on her digital program and social media channels, and in March 2024 proclaimed that she would bet her whole career on her belief that Mrs. Macron was born a man.

Brigitte Macron first met her current spouse when she was a teacher at his lycée.

The couple married in 2007, when the man who would become president was 29 and she was in her mid-50s.