Ten convicted of online harassment against Brigitte Macron

A Paris court has ruled against ten people for engaging in the online harassment of Brigitte Macron, the spouse of France's leader, Emmanuel Macron.

The accused individuals faced charges of disseminating fabrications regarding her sex and sexuality, in addition to making malicious remarks about the couple's age disparity of 24 years.

The court issued conditional custodial sentences of a maximum of eight months to the convicted individuals. The full ruling has not yet been published.

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

This recent ruling in France comes as the Macrons pursuing a defamation lawsuit in the United States against right-wing influencer Candace Owens, who has likewise promoted comparable unfounded claims about the first lady's identity.

Their complaint alleges that Owens ignored any factual proof disproving her claim in favour of amplify the voices of notorious conspiracy peddlers.

Owens has regularly repeated these claims on her digital program and social networks, and in March 2024 stated that she would stake her entire professional reputation on her insistence that Mrs. Macron was born a man.

Brigitte Macron initially encountered her current spouse when she was a teacher at his lycée.

The pair tied the knot in 2007, when the future French president was 29 and she was 54.