Ten convicted of digital abuse against Brigitte Macron
Image source
A French judicial body has found guilty ten people for engaging in the cyber-bullying of Brigitte Macron, the wife of France's leader, Emmanuel Macron.
The defendants faced charges of disseminating untruths regarding her gender and sexuality, in addition to making malicious remarks about the couple's age disparity of 24 years.
The court handed down suspended prison sentences of up to eight months to the convicted individuals. The complete verdict has still to be made public.
A persistent conspiracy theory claiming that Brigitte Macron is a trans woman has spread widely since her husband's initial election in 2017.
This Monday's court decision in France coincides with the Macrons pursuing a libel case in the US against right-wing influencer Candace Owens, who has likewise promoted similar conspiracy theories about the French president's wife's identity.
Their legal filing contends that Owens brushed aside any factual proof disproving her claim in favour of give a platform to established defamers.
Owens has often echoed these assertions on her digital program and social media channels, and in March 2024 proclaimed that she would bet her whole career on her belief that Mrs. Macron is biologically male.
Brigitte Macron initially encountered her future husband when she was a teacher at his secondary school.
The couple married in 2007, when the then-29-year-old Emmanuel Macron was 29 and she was 54.