Ten individuals sentenced of online harassment against Brigitte Macron

A French judicial body has ruled against ten people for perpetrating the online harassment of Brigitte Macron, the spouse of the President of France, Emmanuel Macron.

The those on trial faced accusations of spreading untruths regarding her gender identity and sexuality, in addition to posting defamatory statements about the pair's significant age difference.

The court issued suspended prison sentences of a maximum of 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 been in circulation since her husband's first electoral victory in 2017.

This Monday's court decision in France comes as the Macrons pursuing a defamation lawsuit in the United States against political commentator Candace Owens, who has also voiced comparable unfounded claims about the first lady's identity.

Their complaint contends that Owens ignored all credible evidence that refuted her assertions opting to amplify the voices of notorious conspiracy peddlers.

Owens has frequently reiterated these assertions on her digital program and social media channels, and in March 2024 proclaimed that she would stake her entire professional reputation on her insistence that Mrs. Macron is in fact a man.

Brigitte Macron originally became acquainted with her future husband when she worked as an educator at his secondary school.

The couple tied the knot in 2007, when the future French president was 29 and she was in her mid-50s.