A group of ten sentenced of online harassment targeting Brigitte Macron

A court in Paris has ruled against ten people for perpetrating the cyber-bullying of Brigitte Macron, the wife of France's leader, Emmanuel Macron.

The those on trial faced accusations of circulating false claims regarding her gender identity and sexuality, in addition to publishing hurtful comments about the pair's 24-year age gap.

The court delivered suspended prison sentences of a maximum of eight months to the perpetrators. The complete verdict has not yet been published.

A persistent false narrative claiming that Brigitte Macron is a trans woman has spread widely since her husband's rise to the presidency in 2017.

This latest legal outcome in France comes as the Macrons engaging in a legal action for defamation in the US against conservative commentator Candace Owens, who has repeatedly shared comparable unfounded claims about the Brigitte Macron's gender.

Their lawsuit alleges that Owens disregarded substantial counter-evidence that refuted her assertions in favour of amplify the voices of notorious conspiracy peddlers.

Owens has frequently reiterated these allegations on her digital program and online platforms, and in March 2024 declared that she would bet her whole career on her belief that Mrs. Macron is in fact a man.

Brigitte Macron first met her now-husband when she worked as an educator at his secondary school.

The pair married in 2007, when the then-29-year-old Emmanuel Macron was 29 and she was in her mid-50s.