A Paris court convicts ten people for cyber-harassment of France’s first lady, handing down jail terms and fines over false transgender claims.
PARIS: A Paris court has convicted ten people for the cyber-harassment of France’s first lady, Brigitte Macron (pic).
The eight men and two women were found guilty of spreading false claims that she is a transgender woman born male.
The court rejected defence arguments that the malicious comments constituted satire.
One defendant received a six-month jail sentence without suspension, while others were given suspended terms of up to eight months.
Additional punishments included fines, mandatory cyber-harassment awareness courses, and social media bans for five individuals.
The couple has long faced such falsehoods, including the claim Brigitte was born under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux.
This is the actual name of her older brother.
Speaking on television, Brigitte Macron defended her legal fight against online bullies.
She said the attacks appeared endless and included people hacking her tax website to modify her identity.
“A birth certificate is not nothing,” she stated, lamenting that her attackers ignored strong evidence of her gender.
She expressed hope that her case would set an example, particularly for adolescents facing harassment.
One convicted defendant, gallerist and writer Bertrand Scholler, said he would appeal his six-month suspended sentence.
“This is horrible. It’s abominable,” he told reporters outside the court.
“This shows just how far French society is drifting toward less freedom of speech.”
The ruling marks a victory for the Macrons, who are also pursuing a separate U.S. defamation lawsuit against right-wing influencer Candace Owens.
Owens has also publicly claimed Brigitte Macron was born male.
