In brief
A Paris court has found ten people guilty of cyber-bullying Brigitte Macron, with sentences ranging from suspended prison terms to immediate jail for one. The court noted the defendants spread harmful false claims and engaged in degrading online remarks about the French First Lady, who has been a target of conspiracy theories regarding her gender. This ruling precedes a larger defamation suit filed by the Macrons against U.S. influencer Candace Owens, who has also propagated similar claims.
A Paris court has convicted ten individuals for their involvement in cyber-bullying Brigitte Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron. This ruling underscores the serious implications of online harassment.
The defendants faced accusations of disseminating false claims about her gender and sexuality, as well as making derogatory comments regarding the couple's 24-year age difference.
While most of the accused received suspended prison sentences of up to eight months, one defendant was sentenced to immediate imprisonment for failing to appear in court. The judge emphasized that the actions of the eight men and two women were intentionally harmful, filled with degrading and insulting remarks directed at Brigitte Macron.
Two of the convicted—independent journalist Natacha Rey and fortune-teller Amandine Roy—were previously found guilty of slander in 2024, claiming that the French First Lady had never existed and asserting bizarre assertions about her family. They had previously received libel convictions that were later overturned.
This ruling in France anticipates a larger defamation trial underway in the United States, where the Macrons have filed a lawsuit against right-wing influencer Candace Owens for promoting conspiracy theories concerning Brigitte Macron's gender, disregarding credible evidence that contradicts such claims.
Owens has repeatedly discussed her theories on various platforms, notably stating in March 2024 that she would bet her professional reputation on her belief that Brigitte Macron 'is in fact a man.' Since the election of Emmanuel Macron in 2017, conspiracy theories alleging that Brigitte Macron is transgender have circulated widely.
Brigitte Macron met her future husband while she was a teacher at his secondary school; the couple married in 2007, when Emmanuel was just 29, and Brigitte was in her mid-50s.
