Ten individuals sentenced of cyber-bullying against Brigitte Macron

A Paris court has found guilty ten people for carrying out the cyber-bullying of Brigitte Macron, the spouse of French President, Emmanuel Macron.

The defendants faced charges of disseminating untruths regarding her sex and sexual orientation, in addition to posting 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 perpetrators. The detailed judgment has not yet been published.

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

This latest legal outcome in France coincides with the Macrons pursuing a libel case in the US against conservative commentator Candace Owens, who has repeatedly shared similar conspiracy theories about the French president's wife's identity.

Their lawsuit contends that Owens brushed aside all credible evidence that refuted her assertions in favour of amplify the voices of notorious conspiracy peddlers.

Owens has regularly repeated these allegations on her show and social networks, and in March 2024 stated that she would risk all her credibility on her belief that Mrs. Macron was born a man.

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

The couple entered into matrimony in 2007, when the man who would become president was 29 and she was in her mid-50s.