A group of ten convicted of online harassment directed at Brigitte Macron

A French judicial body has convicted ten people for perpetrating the cyber-bullying of Brigitte Macron, the partner of French President, Emmanuel Macron.

The those on trial faced charges of disseminating untruths regarding her sex and sexuality, in addition to making defamatory statements about the couple's 24-year age gap.

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

A persistent false narrative suggesting that Brigitte Macron is a person assigned male at birth has existed since her husband's initial election in 2017.

This latest legal outcome in France coincides with the Macrons pursuing a legal action for defamation in the United States against political commentator Candace Owens, who has also voiced analogous false narratives about the first lady's gender.

Their legal filing alleges that Owens brushed aside all credible evidence that refuted her assertions in favour of platforming known conspiracy theorists.

Owens has frequently reiterated these claims on her show and online platforms, and in March 2024 stated that she would stake her entire professional reputation on her insistence that Mrs. Macron is biologically male.

Brigitte Macron originally became acquainted with her future husband when she worked as an educator at his lycée.

The pair married in 2007, when the man who would become president was 29 and she was in her mid-50s.