Ten found guilty of cyber-bullying against Brigitte Macron

A court in Paris has ruled against ten people for engaging in the online harassment of Brigitte Macron, the spouse of France's leader, Emmanuel Macron.

The accused individuals faced allegations of spreading untruths regarding her gender and sexuality, in addition to making defamatory statements about the husband and wife's age disparity of 24 years.

The court delivered conditional custodial sentences of up to eight months to the defendants. The detailed judgment has still to be made public.

A longstanding conspiracy theory alleging that Brigitte Macron is a person assigned male at birth has existed since her husband's first electoral victory in 2017.

This recent ruling in France comes as the Macrons engaging in a defamation lawsuit in the United States against right-wing influencer Candace Owens, who has repeatedly shared comparable unfounded claims about the French president's wife's gender.

Their legal filing states that Owens disregarded any factual proof contradicting her allegations opting to platforming known conspiracy theorists.

Owens has frequently reiterated these claims on her podcast and social networks, and in March 2024 stated that she would bet her whole career on her belief that Mrs. Macron was born a man.

Brigitte Macron first met her now-husband when she taught at his lycée.

The couple tied the knot in 2007, when the then-29-year-old Emmanuel Macron was 29 and she was in her mid-50s.