<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/france" rel="" target="" title="Paris"><span>Paris</span></a><span> court has found 10 people guilty of </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/crime" rel="" target="" title="cyberbullying"><span>cyberbullying</span></a><span> France's first lady Brigitte Macron by spreading false online claims about her gender and sexuality, including allegations she was born a man.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/courts" rel="" target="" title="court"><span>court</span></a><span> convicted all defendants to sentences ranging from cyberbullying awareness training to eight-month suspended prison sentences.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The court pointed to "particularly degrading, insulting, and malicious" comments referring to false claims regarding alleged trans identity and alleged paedo criminality targeting Mrs Macron.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/naveed-akram-accused-bondi-terror-attack-gunman-moved-to-goulburn-supermax/93e43843-8d9e-4e0d-98a2-36bf53e39169"><strong><span>Alleged Bondi gunman transferred to Supermax</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The defendants, eight men and two women aged 41 to 65, are accused of having posted "numerous malicious comments" falsely claiming that President </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/emmanuel-macron" rel="" target="" title="Emmanuel Macron"><span>Emmanuel Macron</span></a><span>'s wife was born a man and linking their 24-year age gap to paedophilia. Some of the posts were viewed tens of thousands of times.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Mrs Macron did not attend the two-day trial in October. Speaking on TF1 national television on Sunday, she said she launched legal proceedings to "set an example" in the fight against harassment.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Her daughter, Tiphaine Auzière, testified about what she described as the "deterioration" of her mother's life since the online harassment intensified.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/brigitte-macron-cyberbullying-paris-court-finds-10-people-guilty-france-first-lady/9bb79dc3-b13e-4f00-8680-9a7f09e9169e" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"She cannot ignore the horrible things said about her," Auzière told the court. She said the impact has extended to the entire family, including Mrs Macron's grandchildren.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>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 rumour after she released a four-hour video on her YouTube channel in 2021. She was given a six-month prison sentence.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-suggests-military-action-could-be-coming-for-mexico-colombia/df42c933-2e81-41d6-a128-f25a75ed0be3" rel="" target="" title=""><strong><span>Trump suggests military action could be coming for Mexico, Colombia</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The X account of Aurélien Poirson-Atlan, 41, known as Zoé Sagan on social media, was suspended in 2024 after his name was cited in several judicial investigations. Poirson-Atlan was given an eight-month prison sentence.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Other defendants include an elected official, a teacher and a computer scientist. Several told the court their comments were intended as humour or satire and said they did not understand why they were being prosecuted.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The case follows years of conspiracy theories falsely alleging that Mrs Macron was born under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux, which is actually the name of her brother. The Macrons have also filed a defamation suit in the United States against conservative influencer Candace Owens.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Macrons, who have been married since 2007, first met at the high school where he was a student and she was a teacher. Mrs Macron, 24 years her husband's senior, was then called Brigitte Auzière, a married mother of three.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Mr Macron, 48, has been France's president since 2017.</span></div></div>