Ten people have been found guilty of cyber-bullying Brigitte Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, by a Paris court.
The defendants were accused of spreading false claims about her gender and sexuality, as well as making 'malicious remarks' regarding the 24-year age gap between the couple.
Most of the defendants received suspended prison sentences of up to eight months, while one was imprisoned immediately for failing to appear in court.
The judge remarked that the eight men and two women acted with a clear intent to harm Brigitte Macron, making degrading and insulting comments online.
Two notable defendants, self-styled journalist Natacha Rey and internet fortune-teller Amandine Roy, were previously convicted of slander in 2024 for claiming that France's first lady never existed. They falsely asserted that her brother Jean-Michel Trogneux had undergone gender transition and adopted her name, but had prior similar libel convictions overturned.
This ruling precedes a more significant trial taking place in the United States, where the Macrons have filed a defamation lawsuit against right-wing influencer Candace Owens, who has also propagated conspiracy theories regarding the first lady's gender. They allege that Owens ignored credible evidence disproving her claims in favor of amplifying known conspiracy theorists and defamers.
Owens has repeatedly reiterated these claims through her podcast and social media, asserting in March 2024 her intention to stake her professional reputation on her belief that Mrs. Macron 'is in fact a man.'
A conspiratorial narrative claiming that Brigitte Macron is a transgender woman has circulated since her husband was elected in 2017. Brigitte first met Emmanuel Macron when she was a teacher at his secondary school, and they married in 2007 when he was 29 and she was in her mid-50s.
