Ten convicted of cyber-bullying directed at Brigitte Macron
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A Paris court has ruled against ten people for perpetrating the cyber-bullying of Brigitte Macron, the wife of France's leader, Emmanuel Macron.
The defendants faced charges of spreading false claims regarding her sex and sexuality, in addition to making defamatory statements about the pair's significant age difference.
The court delivered conditional custodial sentences of a maximum of eight months to the defendants. The full ruling has yet to be released.
A persistent unfounded claim alleging that Brigitte Macron is a person assigned male at birth has been in circulation since her husband's first electoral victory in 2017.
This recent ruling in France comes as the Macrons initiating a libel case in the US against political commentator Candace Owens, who has repeatedly shared similar conspiracy theories about the Brigitte Macron's identity.
Their legal filing contends that Owens ignored any factual proof that refuted her assertions in favour of platforming known conspiracy theorists.
Owens has frequently reiterated these assertions on her digital program 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 current spouse when she was a teacher at his secondary school.
The two entered into matrimony in 2007, when the man who would become president was 29 and she was approximately 54 years old.