Ten found guilty of cyber-bullying directed at Brigitte Macron

A French judicial body has ruled against ten people for engaging in the online harassment of Brigitte Macron, the spouse of French President, Emmanuel Macron.

The defendants faced accusations of spreading untruths regarding her gender and sexual orientation, in addition to making defamatory statements about the couple's 24-year age gap.

The court delivered suspended prison sentences of as much as eight months to the convicted individuals. The detailed judgment has still to be made public.

A circulating conspiracy theory suggesting 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 engaging in a legal action for defamation in the US against political commentator Candace Owens, who has likewise promoted comparable unfounded claims about the Brigitte Macron's biological sex.

Their legal filing alleges that Owens brushed aside substantial counter-evidence contradicting her allegations opting to platforming known conspiracy theorists.

Owens has regularly repeated these claims on her show and social media channels, and in March 2024 stated that she would risk all her credibility on her conviction that Mrs. Macron is in fact a man.

Brigitte Macron initially encountered her future husband when she taught at his secondary school.

The two tied the knot in 2007, when the man who would become president was 29 and she was approximately 54 years old.