Ten people have been found guilty of cyber bullying France’s first lady Brigitte Macron.
The legal action was sparked by false claims that the French president‘s wife is a transgender woman who was born a man.
The defendants, eight men and two women aged between 41 and 60, were accused of posting numerous “particularly degrading, insulting, and malicious” comments about Ms Macron’s gender and sexuality.
They were also accused of linking the 24-year age gap between Ms Macron, 72, and her husband Emmanuel Macron, 48, to paedophilia. The couple, who have been married since 2007, first met at secondary school, where he was a student and she was a teacher.
Some of the posts have been viewed tens of thousands of times.
The defendants were handed sentences ranging from cyber bullying awareness training to eight-month suspended prison sentences.
Several defendants told the court their comments were intended as humour or satire, and said they did not understand why they were being prosecuted.
Ms Macron did not attend the two-day trial in October, but on Sunday told TF1 national TV she had launched legal proceedings to “set an example” in the fight against harassment.
Her daughter, Tiphaine Auziere, testified about the “deterioration” of her mother’s life as the online harassment intensified. “She cannot ignore the horrible things said about her,” she told the court, adding that the impact has affected the entire family, including Ms Macron’s grandchildren.
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It comes after years of conspiracy theories falsely alleging Ms Macron was born under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux – actually the name of her brother.
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Mr and Ms Macron are also pursuing a US defamation lawsuit against the right-wing influencer and podcaster Candace Owens, who has also claimed Ms Macron was born male.
Last year, the first lady was caught on camera pushing her husband in the face as he prepared to get off a plane. Mr Macron later said it was a case of “simply joking with my wife as we often do”.
