Ten individuals found guilty of online harassment directed at Brigitte Macron
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A court in Paris has convicted ten people for engaging in the online harassment of Brigitte Macron, the partner of France's leader, Emmanuel Macron.
The those on trial faced accusations of disseminating false claims regarding her gender and sexuality, in addition to making malicious remarks about the couple's significant age difference.
The court handed down suspended prison sentences of a maximum of eight months to the perpetrators. The full ruling has still to be made public.
A persistent conspiracy theory alleging that Brigitte Macron is a trans woman has spread widely since her husband's initial election in 2017.
This Monday's court decision in France is concurrent with the Macrons initiating a libel case in the United States of America against right-wing influencer Candace Owens, who has repeatedly shared analogous false narratives about the first lady's gender.
Their complaint states that Owens disregarded substantial counter-evidence contradicting her allegations choosing instead to give a platform to established defamers.
Owens has regularly repeated these allegations on her digital program and online platforms, and in March 2024 stated that she would stake her entire professional reputation on her belief that Mrs. Macron was born a man.
Brigitte Macron initially encountered her now-husband when she worked as an educator at his lycée.
The couple married in 2007, when the future French president was 29 and she was approximately 54 years old.
