Paris Court Convicts 10 for Cyberbullying Brigitte Macron

A Paris court convicted 10 individuals on Monday for cyberbullying France's first lady, Brigitte Macron, through the online spread of false claims about her gender and insinuations regarding her marriage to President Emmanuel Macron.

The defendants, comprising eight men and two women aged between 41 and 65, included professionals such as a school sports teacher, an art gallery owner and a publicist. They were found guilty of posting or sharing malicious content on social media that alleged Brigitte Macron was born a man and transgender, while also linking the 24-year age difference between her, 72, and the president, 48, to accusations of pedophilia. Some posts reached tens of thousands of views. Presiding Judge Thierry Donard described the comments as malicious, degrading and insulting, emphasizing that they intentionally harmed the complainant and exceeded the bounds of opinion or satire to constitute sustained harassment.

Sentences varied but were relatively lenient. Eight defendants received suspended prison terms of four to eight months, while a ninth man was given a six-month jail term due to his absence from the two-day trial held in October. All 10 were ordered to...