A group of ten convicted of cyber-bullying directed at Brigitte Macron

A French judicial body has convicted ten people for carrying out the online harassment of Brigitte Macron, the spouse of the President of France, Emmanuel Macron.

The accused individuals faced charges of spreading untruths regarding her gender identity and sexuality, in addition to making malicious remarks about the couple's age disparity of 24 years.

The court handed down suspended prison sentences of a maximum of eight months to the defendants. The full ruling has still to be made public.

A longstanding false narrative claiming that Brigitte Macron is a transgender woman has existed since her husband's rise to the presidency in 2017.

This latest legal outcome in France coincides with the Macrons engaging in a libel case in the United States of America against political commentator Candace Owens, who has repeatedly shared similar conspiracy theories about the Brigitte Macron's identity.

Their legal filing contends that Owens ignored substantial counter-evidence contradicting her allegations choosing instead to platforming known conspiracy theorists.

Owens has often echoed these allegations on her digital program and online platforms, and in March 2024 stated that she would risk all her credibility on her conviction that Mrs. Macron is in fact a man.

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

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