Ten individuals found guilty of cyber-bullying targeting Brigitte Macron

A court in Paris has ruled against ten people for engaging in the digital intimidation of Brigitte Macron, the wife of the President of France, Emmanuel Macron.

The those on trial faced allegations of circulating fabrications regarding her gender identity and sexual orientation, in addition to making hurtful comments about the couple's 24-year age gap.

The court handed down suspended prison sentences of a maximum of eight months to the convicted individuals. The complete verdict has yet to be released.

A persistent unfounded claim claiming that Brigitte Macron is a person assigned male at birth has existed since her husband's first electoral victory in 2017.

This Monday's court decision in France coincides with the Macrons initiating a legal action for defamation in the United States against conservative commentator Candace Owens, who has also voiced comparable unfounded claims about the first lady's identity.

Their lawsuit alleges that Owens disregarded substantial counter-evidence disproving her claim choosing instead to platforming known conspiracy theorists.

Owens has regularly repeated these allegations on her podcast 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 initially encountered her future husband when she worked as an educator at his high school.

The pair entered into matrimony in 2007, when the then-29-year-old Emmanuel Macron was 29 and she was in her mid-50s.