Ten found guilty of online harassment targeting Brigitte Macron

A court in Paris has found guilty ten people for engaging in the digital intimidation of Brigitte Macron, the spouse of French President, Emmanuel Macron.

The those on trial faced allegations of spreading untruths regarding her gender and sexuality, in addition to posting malicious remarks about the couple's 24-year age gap.

The court delivered suspended prison sentences of up to eight months to the defendants. The detailed judgment has still to be made public.

A longstanding false narrative alleging that Brigitte Macron is a transgender woman has existed since her husband's initial election in 2017.

This recent ruling in France coincides with the Macrons engaging in a libel case in the United States against political commentator Candace Owens, who has likewise promoted similar conspiracy theories about the first lady's identity.

Their legal filing contends that Owens ignored substantial counter-evidence disproving her claim in favour of platforming known conspiracy theorists.

Owens has often echoed these assertions on her digital program and social media channels, and in March 2024 proclaimed that she would stake her entire professional reputation on her conviction that Mrs. Macron is in fact a man.

Brigitte Macron first met her future husband when she taught at his secondary school.

The couple tied the knot in 2007, when the man who would become president was 29 and she was in her mid-50s.