Ten individuals sentenced of online harassment against Brigitte Macron
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A court in Paris has ruled against ten people for carrying out the online harassment of Brigitte Macron, the partner of the President of France, Emmanuel Macron.
The accused individuals faced accusations of disseminating fabrications regarding her sex and sexual orientation, in addition to making hurtful comments about the couple's age disparity of 24 years.
The court issued suspended jail terms of up to eight months to the perpetrators. The detailed judgment has yet to be released.
A circulating conspiracy theory alleging that Brigitte Macron is a person assigned male at birth has existed since her husband's initial election in 2017.
This latest legal outcome in France is concurrent with the Macrons initiating a defamation lawsuit in the US against right-wing influencer Candace Owens, who has repeatedly shared analogous false narratives about the first lady's gender.
Their complaint states that Owens brushed aside substantial counter-evidence contradicting her allegations choosing instead to platforming known conspiracy theorists.
Owens has often echoed these allegations on her podcast and online platforms, 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 worked as an educator at his high school.
The two married in 2007, when the future French president was 29 and she was in her mid-50s.
