Ten sentenced of cyber-bullying directed at Brigitte Macron

A Paris court has ruled against ten people for carrying out the digital intimidation of Brigitte Macron, the spouse of France's leader, Emmanuel Macron.

The defendants faced allegations of disseminating fabrications regarding her gender identity and sexuality, in addition to publishing defamatory statements about the husband and wife's age disparity of 24 years.

The court delivered suspended jail terms of up to eight months to the defendants. The complete verdict has yet to be released.

A circulating conspiracy theory claiming that Brigitte Macron is a trans woman has been in circulation since her husband's initial election in 2017.

This Monday's court decision in France is concurrent with the Macrons pursuing a legal action for defamation in the United States against right-wing influencer Candace Owens, who has also voiced similar conspiracy theories about the first lady's gender.

Their lawsuit states that Owens disregarded any factual proof contradicting her allegations choosing instead to amplify the voices of notorious conspiracy peddlers.

Owens has often echoed these claims on her show and online platforms, and in March 2024 proclaimed that she would bet her whole career on her conviction that Mrs. Macron was born a man.

Brigitte Macron first met her future husband when she taught at his secondary school.

The two entered into matrimony in 2007, when the future French president was 29 and she was approximately 54 years old.