Ten individuals sentenced of digital abuse directed at Brigitte Macron
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A French judicial body has ruled against ten people for perpetrating the online harassment of Brigitte Macron, the partner of France's leader, Emmanuel Macron.
The accused individuals faced charges of disseminating untruths regarding her sex and sexuality, in addition to publishing hurtful comments about the pair's significant age difference.
The court issued suspended jail terms of up to eight months to the convicted individuals. The full ruling has still to be made public.
A persistent conspiracy theory claiming that Brigitte Macron is a trans 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 engaging in a defamation lawsuit in the United States against conservative commentator Candace Owens, who has repeatedly shared comparable unfounded claims about the Brigitte Macron's identity.
Their lawsuit contends that Owens disregarded any factual proof disproving her claim choosing instead to amplify the voices of notorious conspiracy peddlers.
Owens has often echoed these claims on her podcast and social media channels, and in March 2024 stated that she would stake her entire professional reputation on her belief that Mrs. Macron is biologically male.
Brigitte Macron first met her now-husband when she taught at his lycée.
The couple entered into matrimony in 2007, when the man who would become president was 29 and she was approximately 54 years old.
