Ten individuals convicted of cyber-bullying targeting Brigitte Macron

A Paris court has convicted ten people for perpetrating the cyber-bullying of Brigitte Macron, the partner of French President, Emmanuel Macron.

The accused individuals faced allegations of disseminating false claims regarding her gender identity and sexual orientation, in addition to posting malicious remarks about the couple's age disparity of 24 years.

The court handed down suspended prison sentences of up to eight months to the convicted individuals. The detailed judgment has not yet been published.

A circulating false narrative suggesting that Brigitte Macron is a person assigned male at birth has existed since her husband's initial election in 2017.

This recent ruling in France comes as the Macrons initiating a libel case in the United States against right-wing influencer Candace Owens, who has also voiced similar conspiracy theories about the French president's wife's biological sex.

Their complaint alleges that Owens brushed aside all credible evidence contradicting her allegations opting to amplify the voices of notorious conspiracy peddlers.

Owens has regularly repeated these claims on her podcast and social networks, and in March 2024 stated that she would risk all her credibility on her belief that Mrs. Macron was born a man.

Brigitte Macron originally became acquainted with her now-husband when she taught at his high school.

The two married in 2007, when the future French president was 29 and she was in her mid-50s.