10 on trial for claiming French president’s wife Brigitte Macron is really a man
Ten people went on trial in Paris on Monday for allegedly harassing President Emmanuel Macron’s wife, Brigitte Macron, by spewing malicious rumors that she is really a man.
The eight men and two women have been accused of sexist cyber-harassment after they allegedly played a major role in fueling claims online about the French first lady’s gender and sexuality, according to French prosecutors.
The defendants also attacked the first lady’s 24-year age gap with her husband — describing it as “pedophilia.”
The defendants, who are facing two years in prison if convicted, include a self-described spiritual medium, an advertising executive, an elected official, a teacher and a computer scientist.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Brigitte planned to attend the trial.
The two-day trial comes after the Macrons slapped conservative influencer Candace Owens with a defamation lawsuit back in July after she started sowing doubts about the 72-year-old first lady’s biological gender.
