Ten convicted of cyber-bullying targeting Brigitte Macron

A French judicial body has found guilty ten people for carrying out the online harassment of Brigitte Macron, the wife of the President of France, Emmanuel Macron.

The accused individuals faced accusations of spreading fabrications regarding her gender and sexual orientation, in addition to making hurtful comments about the husband and wife's 24-year age gap.

The court handed down suspended prison sentences of a maximum of eight months to the defendants. The detailed judgment has still to be made public.

A longstanding false narrative alleging that Brigitte Macron is a trans woman has been in circulation since her husband's initial election in 2017.

This latest legal outcome in France comes as the Macrons pursuing a defamation lawsuit in the United States of America against right-wing influencer Candace Owens, who has likewise promoted similar conspiracy theories about the French president's wife's identity.

Their legal filing states that Owens ignored substantial counter-evidence contradicting her allegations opting to amplify the voices of notorious conspiracy peddlers.

Owens has frequently reiterated these claims on her digital program and social networks, and in March 2024 declared that she would risk all her credibility on her belief that Mrs. Macron was born a man.

Brigitte Macron first met her future husband when she was a teacher at his lycée.

The pair tied the knot in 2007, when the then-29-year-old Emmanuel Macron was 29 and she was in her mid-50s.