A group of ten convicted of cyber-bullying against Brigitte Macron
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A court in Paris has found guilty ten people for perpetrating the cyber-bullying of Brigitte Macron, the wife of France's leader, Emmanuel Macron.
The defendants faced charges of spreading fabrications regarding her sex and sexual orientation, in addition to publishing malicious remarks about the husband and wife's significant age difference.
The court delivered suspended jail terms of up to eight months to the convicted individuals. The complete verdict has yet to be released.
A circulating conspiracy theory claiming that Brigitte Macron is a person assigned male at birth has spread widely since her husband's first electoral victory in 2017.
This Monday's court decision in France coincides with the Macrons pursuing a defamation lawsuit in the United States against conservative commentator Candace Owens, who has also voiced similar conspiracy theories about the Brigitte Macron's identity.
Their lawsuit alleges that Owens disregarded all credible evidence contradicting her allegations choosing instead to give a platform to established defamers.
Owens has often echoed these allegations on her show and social networks, 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 was a teacher at his lycée.
The two tied the knot in 2007, when the then-29-year-old Emmanuel Macron was 29 and she was approximately 54 years old.