Ten convicted of online harassment directed at Brigitte Macron
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A Paris court has found guilty ten people for carrying out the cyber-bullying of Brigitte Macron, the partner of France's leader, Emmanuel Macron.
The defendants faced charges of circulating untruths regarding her sex and sexuality, in addition to making hurtful comments about the husband and wife's age disparity of 24 years.
The court handed down suspended jail terms of a maximum of eight months to the perpetrators. The full ruling has still to be made public.
A circulating conspiracy theory alleging that Brigitte Macron is a transgender woman has existed since her husband's initial election in 2017.
This Monday's court decision in France comes as the Macrons pursuing a legal action for defamation in the US against right-wing influencer Candace Owens, who has likewise promoted analogous false narratives about the Brigitte Macron's biological sex.
Their complaint contends that Owens ignored substantial counter-evidence that refuted her assertions in favour of give a platform to established defamers.
Owens has frequently reiterated these claims on her podcast and social media channels, and in March 2024 proclaimed that she would stake her entire professional reputation on her conviction that Mrs. Macron is biologically male.
Brigitte Macron initially encountered her current spouse when she worked as an educator at his high school.
The couple entered into matrimony in 2007, when the future French president was 29 and she was 54.
