Ten found guilty of digital abuse targeting Brigitte Macron

A Paris court has found guilty ten people for carrying out the digital intimidation of Brigitte Macron, the spouse of France's leader, Emmanuel Macron.

The those on trial faced accusations of circulating fabrications regarding her gender and sexuality, in addition to making hurtful comments about the pair's significant age difference.

The court handed down suspended jail terms of up to eight months to the defendants. The detailed judgment has yet to be released.

A longstanding conspiracy theory claiming that Brigitte Macron is a trans woman has spread widely since her husband's first electoral victory in 2017.

This Monday's court decision in France is concurrent with the Macrons pursuing a defamation lawsuit in the United States of America against political commentator Candace Owens, who has repeatedly shared analogous false narratives about the first lady's identity.

Their legal filing alleges that Owens ignored substantial counter-evidence that refuted her assertions opting to give a platform to established defamers.

Owens has often echoed these claims on her digital program and online platforms, and in March 2024 proclaimed that she would stake her entire professional reputation on her insistence that Mrs. Macron is biologically male.

Brigitte Macron initially encountered her future husband when she was a teacher at his high school.

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