Ten convicted of online harassment directed at Brigitte Macron

A Paris court has convicted ten people for perpetrating the online harassment of Brigitte Macron, the wife of French President, Emmanuel Macron.

The those on trial faced accusations of disseminating untruths regarding her gender and sexuality, in addition to posting hurtful comments about the couple's 24-year age gap.

The court delivered suspended jail terms of up to eight months to the perpetrators. The full ruling has not yet been published.

A persistent unfounded claim alleging that Brigitte Macron is a transgender woman has existed since her husband's initial election in 2017.

This latest legal outcome in France coincides with the Macrons pursuing a defamation lawsuit in the United States against conservative commentator Candace Owens, who has repeatedly shared analogous false narratives about the Brigitte Macron's gender.

Their legal filing contends that Owens brushed aside substantial counter-evidence disproving her claim in favour of give a platform to established defamers.

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

Brigitte Macron first met her current spouse when she worked as an educator at his secondary school.

The two married in 2007, when the future French president was 29 and she was in her mid-50s.