Ten sentenced of digital abuse directed at Brigitte Macron

A court in Paris has convicted ten people for perpetrating the digital intimidation of Brigitte Macron, the partner of France's leader, Emmanuel Macron.

The defendants faced charges of spreading false claims regarding her gender and sexuality, in addition to posting defamatory statements about the husband and wife's age disparity of 24 years.

The court delivered conditional custodial sentences of a maximum of eight months to the perpetrators. The complete verdict has still to be made public.

A persistent unfounded claim suggesting that Brigitte Macron is a transgender woman has been in circulation since her husband's first electoral victory in 2017.

This latest legal outcome in France coincides with the Macrons pursuing a legal action for defamation in the United States of America against right-wing influencer Candace Owens, who has repeatedly shared analogous false narratives about the Brigitte Macron's gender.

Their lawsuit contends that Owens disregarded substantial counter-evidence that refuted her assertions in favour of platforming known conspiracy theorists.

Owens has regularly repeated these assertions on her digital program and social networks, 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 future husband when she was a teacher at his high school.

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