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PARIS — <\/span>A Paris court found Monday 10 people guilty of cyberbullying France\u2019s first lady Brigitte Macron.<\/p>\n The court convicted all defendants to sentences, ranging from a cyberbullying awareness training to 8-month suspended prison sentences.<\/p>\n The court pointed to \u201cparticularly degrading, insulting, and malicious\u201d comments referring to false claims regarding alleged trans identity and alleged pedo criminality targeting Brigitte Macron.<\/p>\n THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP\u2019s earlier story follows below.<\/p>\n A Paris court is to rule on Monday in a case involving 10 people accused of cyberbullying<\/a> French first lady Brigitte Macron<\/a> by spreading false online claims about her gender and sexuality, allegations her daughter said damaged her health and family life.<\/p>\n The defendants, eight men and two women aged 41 to 65, are accused of posting \u201cnumerous malicious comments\u201d falsely claiming that President Emmanuel Macron<\/a> \u2019s wife was born a man and linking the 24-year age gap with her husband to pedophilia. Some of the posts were viewed tens of thousands of times.<\/p>\n Brigitte Macron did not attend the two-day trial in October. Speaking on TF1 national television Sunday, she said she launched legal proceedings to \u201cset an example\u201d in the fight against harassment.<\/p>\n Her daughter, Tiphaine Auzi\u00e8re, testified<\/a> about what she described as the \u201cdeterioration\u201d of her mother\u2019s life since the online harassment intensified. \u201cShe cannot ignore the horrible things said about her,\u201d Auzi\u00e8re told the court. She said the impact has extended to the entire family, including Macron\u2019s grandchildren.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The X account of Aur\u00e9lien Poirson-Atlan, 41, known as Zo\u00e9 Sagan on social media, was suspended in 2024 after his name was cited in several judicial investigations.<\/p>\n Other defendants include an elected official, a teacher and a computer scientist. Several told the court their comments were intended as humor or satire and said they did not understand why they were being prosecuted. They face up to two years in prison if convicted.<\/p>\n The case follows years of conspiracy theories falsely alleging that Brigitte 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<\/a> in the United States against conservative influencer Candace Owens<\/a>.<\/p>\n