A group of ten found guilty of cyber-bullying against Brigitte Macron

A Paris court has found guilty ten people for perpetrating the cyber-bullying of Brigitte Macron, the wife of France's leader, Emmanuel Macron.

The defendants faced allegations of circulating untruths regarding her sex and sexual orientation, in addition to posting defamatory statements about the husband and wife's significant age difference.

The court handed down suspended prison sentences of as much as eight months to the convicted individuals. The detailed judgment has yet to be released.

A persistent unfounded claim alleging that Brigitte Macron is a transgender woman has spread widely since her husband's rise to the presidency in 2017.

This Monday's court decision in France coincides with the Macrons pursuing a libel case in the United States against conservative commentator Candace Owens, who has also voiced comparable unfounded claims about the French president's wife's gender.

Their legal filing contends that Owens disregarded any factual proof contradicting her allegations in favour of platforming known conspiracy theorists.

Owens has regularly repeated these claims on her podcast and social networks, and in March 2024 proclaimed that she would stake her entire professional reputation on her belief that Mrs. Macron is in fact a man.

Brigitte Macron first met her current spouse when she was a teacher at his secondary school.

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