Overview
- Eight men and two women were found guilty of spreading false claims about the French first lady’s gender and linking the couple’s age gap to pedophilia.
- Sentences included one six‑month jail term, suspended prison terms of up to eight months, fines, mandatory cyberbullying awareness courses, and time‑limited bans from the platforms used.
- Judges called the posts “particularly degrading, insulting, and malicious” and rejected defendants’ arguments that the comments were satire or jokes.
- Brigitte Macron, who did not attend the October trial, said on TF1 she pursued the case to set an example in combating harassment, as her daughter testified to the toll on their family.
- The ruling complements the Macrons’ separate U.S. defamation suit against Candace Owens, and at least one convicted defendant has signaled plans to appeal.