Overview
- Eight men and two women were found guilty of repeated online harassment for spreading false claims about Brigitte Macron’s gender and linking the couple’s age gap to pedophilia.
- Sentences included one six-month custodial term and suspended prison terms of up to eight months, along with fines, mandatory cyberbullying awareness courses and temporary social-media bans.
- The court described the posts as “particularly degrading, insulting and malicious” and said repeated publications had cumulative harmful effects on the first lady and her family.
- Defenses that the comments were humor or satire were rejected, and at least one defendant said he would appeal the verdict.
- Brigitte Macron did not attend the October trial; her daughter testified about the personal toll, while the couple also pursues a separate U.S. defamation suit against commentator Candace Owens.