Ten individuals sentenced of online harassment targeting Brigitte Macron

A court in Paris has ruled against ten people for carrying out the cyber-bullying of Brigitte Macron, the wife of France's leader, Emmanuel Macron.

The those on trial faced charges of circulating false claims regarding her gender identity and sexuality, in addition to publishing hurtful comments about the husband and wife's 24-year age gap.

The court issued suspended jail terms of up to eight months to the convicted individuals. The complete verdict has yet to be released.

A persistent unfounded claim alleging that Brigitte Macron is a transgender woman has existed since her husband's rise to the presidency in 2017.

This Monday's court decision in France coincides with the Macrons pursuing a libel case in the United States against right-wing influencer Candace Owens, who has also voiced similar conspiracy theories about the French president's wife's identity.

Their complaint contends that Owens disregarded all credible evidence disproving her claim choosing instead to platforming known conspiracy theorists.

Owens has frequently reiterated these allegations on her show and social networks, and in March 2024 declared that she would bet her whole career on her insistence that Mrs. Macron is in fact a man.

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

The two entered into matrimony in 2007, when the man who would become president was 29 and she was 54.