Ten found guilty of online harassment against Brigitte Macron
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A court in Paris has convicted ten people for carrying out the digital intimidation of Brigitte Macron, the spouse of the President of France, Emmanuel Macron.
The accused individuals faced charges of spreading false claims regarding her gender identity and sexual orientation, in addition to making defamatory statements about the husband and wife's age disparity of 24 years.
The court delivered suspended prison sentences of a maximum of eight months to the defendants. The full ruling has still to be made public.
A persistent unfounded claim suggesting that Brigitte Macron is a transgender woman has been in circulation since her husband's first electoral victory in 2017.
This Monday's court decision in France is concurrent with the Macrons engaging in a defamation lawsuit in the United States of America against political commentator Candace Owens, who has likewise promoted similar conspiracy theories about the Brigitte Macron's gender.
Their legal filing states that Owens brushed aside substantial counter-evidence contradicting her allegations choosing instead to platforming known conspiracy theorists.
Owens has frequently reiterated these allegations on her show and online platforms, and in March 2024 declared that she would bet her whole career on her insistence that Mrs. Macron is biologically male.
Brigitte Macron originally became acquainted with her now-husband when she was a teacher at his lycée.
The two married in 2007, when the future French president was 29 and she was in her mid-50s.
