10 individuals who had spread rumors about France’s First Lady, Brigitte Macron, having been born as a man, were found guilty of cyberbullying by a Paris court on Monday (local time).
Among the 10 individuals, one has received a six-month jail sentence without suspension while others were handed suspended jail terms, ranging upto eight months, as per a report by news agency Reuters.
Brigitte Macron and her husband, Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, have long faced questions about their private lives, and even had to deal with falsehoods like she was born with the name Jean-Michel Trogneux, which is actually the name of her older brother.
Furthermore, the 24-year age gap between the couple has also drawn taunts by critics on social media and elsewhere. France’s first couple had ignored these barbs for long, but now are challenging them in court.
The Paris court ruling on Monday comes amid a similar high-profile case they have filed in the US against controversial right-wing podcaster Candace Owens, who earlier made similar claims.
Among the 10 individuals found guilty of cyberbullying Brigette, eight are men while two are women. They were found guilty of making malicious and unfounded claims about the French First Lady’s gender and sexuality, and also for referring to the considerable age gap between her and her husband as ‘paedophilia’.
This is a developing story. Check back later for more updates.
