Ten found guilty of cyber-bullying against Brigitte Macron

Placeholder Brigitte Macron Photo credit

A Paris court has ruled against ten people for perpetrating the online harassment of Brigitte Macron, the spouse of France's leader, Emmanuel Macron.

The defendants faced charges of disseminating untruths regarding her sex and sexual orientation, in addition to publishing hurtful comments about the pair's age disparity of 24 years.

The court issued suspended jail terms of as much as eight months to the defendants. The detailed judgment has not yet been published.

A circulating conspiracy theory claiming that Brigitte Macron is a person assigned male at birth has spread widely since her husband's rise to the presidency in 2017.

This Monday's court decision in France comes as the Macrons pursuing a defamation lawsuit in the United States of America against right-wing influencer Candace Owens, who has likewise promoted comparable unfounded claims about the Brigitte Macron's biological sex.

Their legal filing contends that Owens ignored all credible evidence that refuted her assertions opting to platforming known conspiracy theorists.

Owens has regularly repeated these claims on her show and social media channels, and in March 2024 proclaimed that she would stake her entire professional reputation on her conviction that Mrs. Macron is biologically male.

Brigitte Macron initially encountered her now-husband when she was a teacher at his secondary school.

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

Stacey Hogan
Stacey Hogan

A London-based tech analyst and writer with over a decade of experience covering digital transformation and startup ecosystems across Europe.