Ten found guilty of cyber-bullying targeting Brigitte Macron

A French judicial body has convicted ten people for engaging in the cyber-bullying of Brigitte Macron, the spouse of the President of France, Emmanuel Macron.

The accused individuals faced allegations of disseminating untruths regarding her gender and sexual orientation, in addition to publishing hurtful comments about the husband and wife's significant age difference.

The court delivered conditional custodial sentences of a maximum of eight months to the convicted individuals. The full ruling has yet to be released.

A longstanding false narrative suggesting that Brigitte Macron is a person assigned male at birth has been in circulation since her husband's rise to the presidency in 2017.

This latest legal outcome in France comes as the Macrons initiating a legal action for defamation in the United States against right-wing influencer Candace Owens, who has likewise promoted similar conspiracy theories about the first lady's biological sex.

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

Owens has frequently reiterated these claims on her show and social networks, and in March 2024 stated that she would bet her whole career on her conviction that Mrs. Macron is biologically male.

Brigitte Macron first met her now-husband when she was a teacher at his lycée.

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