A group of ten found guilty of digital abuse against Brigitte Macron

A Paris court has ruled against ten people for engaging in the digital intimidation of Brigitte Macron, the wife of France's leader, Emmanuel Macron.

The accused individuals faced accusations of spreading untruths regarding her gender identity and sexuality, in addition to making hurtful comments about the husband and wife's 24-year age gap.

The court issued suspended prison sentences of up to eight months to the perpetrators. The full ruling has yet to be released.

A longstanding false narrative claiming that Brigitte Macron is a trans woman has been in circulation since her husband's initial election in 2017.

This Monday's court decision in France comes as the Macrons engaging in a legal action for defamation in the United States against conservative commentator Candace Owens, who has likewise promoted analogous false narratives about the first lady's gender.

Their complaint contends that Owens brushed aside any factual proof that refuted her assertions in favour of amplify the voices of notorious conspiracy peddlers.

Owens has frequently reiterated these assertions on her podcast and social media channels, and in March 2024 declared that she would stake her entire professional reputation on her insistence that Mrs. Macron was born a man.

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

The couple married in 2007, when the future French president was 29 and she was 54.