Ten individuals convicted of digital abuse against Brigitte Macron

A Paris court has found guilty ten people for carrying out the digital intimidation of Brigitte Macron, the spouse of France's leader, Emmanuel Macron.

The accused individuals faced allegations of circulating untruths regarding her gender identity and sexuality, in addition to publishing defamatory statements about the pair's 24-year age gap.

The court handed down suspended jail terms of a maximum of eight months to the convicted individuals. The full ruling has not yet been published.

A circulating conspiracy theory suggesting that Brigitte Macron is a transgender woman has spread widely since her husband's first electoral victory in 2017.

This Monday's court decision in France is concurrent with the Macrons engaging in a legal action for defamation in the US against right-wing influencer Candace Owens, who has also voiced similar conspiracy theories about the Brigitte Macron's biological sex.

Their lawsuit contends that Owens disregarded any factual proof 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 insistence that Mrs. Macron is in fact a man.

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

The couple entered into matrimony in 2007, when the future French president was 29 and she was in her mid-50s.