In brief
In a significant ruling, ten individuals were found guilty of cyber-bullying Brigitte Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron. The defendants faced charges for spreading false claims regarding her gender and making derogatory remarks concerning her relationship with the president. While eight received suspended sentences, one was immediately jailed for non-attendance. This case precedes a larger trial where the Macrons are suing right-wing influencer Candace Owens for similar defamatory allegations.
Ten people have been found guilty of cyber-bullying Brigitte Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, by a Paris court.
The defendants were accused of spreading false claims about her gender and sexuality, as well as making malicious remarks about the 24-year age gap between the couple.
Most of the defendants were handed suspended prison sentences of up to eight months, but one was jailed immediately for failing to attend court.
The judge stated that the eight men and two women had acted with a clear desire to harm Brigitte Macron, making degrading and insulting remarks online.
Two of the defendants - self-styled independent journalist Natacha Rey and internet fortune-teller Amandine Roy - were convicted of slander in 2024 for claiming that the First Lady had never existed.
They had claimed that her brother Jean-Michel Trogneux had changed gender and adopted her name, although similar libel convictions against them were later overturned.
This ruling in France comes ahead of a significant trial in the US, where the Macrons have filed a defamation lawsuit against right-wing influencer Candace Owens, who also propagated conspiracy theories regarding the First Lady's gender.
They alleged that she disregarded all credible evidence disproving her claims in favor of promoting known conspiracy theorists and established defamers.
Owens has consistently repeated these claims on her podcast and social media, even stating in March 2024 that she would stake her entire professional reputation on her belief that Mrs. Macron is in fact a man.
Since President Macron's election in 2017, conspiracy theories alleging that Brigitte Macron is a transgender woman have circulated widely.
Brigitte Macron met her future husband when she was a teacher at his secondary school, and they married in 2007, when he was 29 and she was in her mid-50s.
