Ten convicted of online harassment directed at Brigitte Macron

A French judicial body has ruled against ten people for perpetrating the cyber-bullying of Brigitte Macron, the wife of France's leader, Emmanuel Macron.

The those on trial faced allegations of disseminating untruths regarding her gender and sexual orientation, in addition to posting hurtful comments about the husband and wife's 24-year age gap.

The court delivered suspended prison sentences of as much as eight months to the perpetrators. The full ruling has yet to be released.

A persistent false narrative claiming that Brigitte Macron is a person assigned male at birth has been in circulation since her husband's first electoral victory in 2017.

This recent ruling in France comes as the Macrons engaging in a libel case in the US against conservative commentator Candace Owens, who has likewise promoted analogous false narratives about the French president's wife's identity.

Their legal filing alleges that Owens brushed aside all credible evidence that refuted her assertions in favour of amplify the voices of notorious conspiracy peddlers.

Owens has often echoed these allegations on her podcast and social media channels, and in March 2024 declared that she would risk all her credibility on her belief that Mrs. Macron was born a man.

Brigitte Macron initially encountered her current spouse when she taught at his high school.

The couple married in 2007, when the man who would become president was 29 and she was 54.