Paris court finds 10 people guilty of cyberbullying France’s first lady

On January 5, a Paris court found 10 people guilty of cyberbullying France’s first lady, Brigitte Macron, by spreading false online claims about her gender and sexuality, including allegations she was born a man.

One defendant was sentenced to six months in prison, while eight were handed suspended sentences between two and eight months. All 10 were mandated to attend cyberbullying awareness training, per AP.

The court pointed to “particularly degrading, insulting, and malicious” comments referring to false claims regarding alleged trans identity and alleged pedo criminality targeting Brigitte Macron. “Repeated publications have had cumulative harmful effects,” the court said.

The defendants, eight men and two women aged 41 to 65, were accused of having posted numerous comments falsely claiming that President Emmanuel Macron’s wife was born a man and likening their 24-year age gap to pedophilia. Some of the posts were viewed tens of thousands of times.

Defendant Delphine Jegousse, 51, who is known as Amandine Roy and describes herself as a medium and an author, is considered to have played a major role in spreading the rumor after she released a four-hour video on her YouTube channel in 2021. She was given a 6-month prison sentence.

By Khagan Isayev