❓WHAT HAPPENED: A court in Paris, France, found ten people guilty of “cyber-bullying” Brigitte Macron, wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, for claiming she is a man and making “malicious” remarks about the fact that their relationship started when he was 15, and she was 39.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Brigitte Macron, her lawyer Jean Ennochi, and ten defendants.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The verdict was delivered in Paris on Monday. The events span several years, with related incidents ongoing.
💬KEY QUOTE: “The most important things are the prevention courses and the suspension of some of the accounts,” said Brigitte Macron’s lawyer Jean Ennochi.
🎯IMPACT: The ruling highlights the harsh restrictions of free speech in Europe, and comes ahead of further lawsuits related to the French first lady in the U.S.
A court in Paris, France, has convicted ten people for “cyber-bullying” Brigitte Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, for making claims that the French first lady is transgender and making “malicious” remarks about the couple’s 24-year age difference. Notably, their relationship started when Emmanuel Macron was just 15, and Brigitte, then 39, was a teacher at his school.
Eight men and two women were sentenced on Tuesday. Most received suspended prison terms of up to eight months and were ordered to attend prevention courses on online harassment. One defendant was taken into custody after failing to appear in court. Several of those convicted were also handed temporary suspensions of their social media accounts.
Among them was Delphine Jegousse, known on social media as Amandine Roy, who claims to be a medium and is regarded as a key originator of the rumors that Brigitte Macron was born a man.
In its ruling, the court said the defendants had used “malicious, degrading and insulting language” and acted with a clear intention to harm the French first lady. Her lawyer, Jean Ennochi, said that the “most important things are the prevention courses and the suspension of some of the accounts.”
The ruling highlights the harsh restrictions on free speech in Europe, with defamation, particularly against public figures, being treated as a criminal offense, usually with no right to a trial by jury. This has led to clashes between European governments and the Trump administration, with prominent figures such as Vice President J.D. Vance questioning whether the former share American values, and others warning that European censorship is encroaching on Americans.
The Paris case comes as the Macrons prepare for a separate defamation lawsuit in the United States against commentator Candace Owens. Owens previously said she would stake her “entire professional reputation” on the claim that Brigitte Macron “is in fact a man.”
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