Ten convicted of online harassment targeting Brigitte Macron
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A Paris court has convicted ten people for carrying out the online harassment of Brigitte Macron, the partner of French President, Emmanuel Macron.
The defendants faced accusations of spreading false claims regarding her sex and sexuality, in addition to making defamatory statements about the husband and wife's age disparity of 24 years.
The court delivered suspended prison sentences of as much as eight months to the convicted individuals. The complete verdict has still to be made public.
A persistent false narrative suggesting that Brigitte Macron is a trans woman has been in circulation since her husband's rise to the presidency in 2017.
This Monday's court decision in France coincides with the Macrons pursuing a libel case in the US against right-wing influencer Candace Owens, who has repeatedly shared similar conspiracy theories about the first lady's gender.
Their legal filing alleges that Owens ignored substantial counter-evidence disproving her claim opting to give a platform to established defamers.
Owens has often echoed these assertions on her show and social networks, and in March 2024 declared that she would risk all her credibility on her belief that Mrs. Macron was born a man.
Brigitte Macron originally became acquainted with her future husband when she worked as an educator at his high school.
The pair tied the knot in 2007, when the man who would become president was 29 and she was approximately 54 years old.
