10 face court for harassing French first lady online

PARIS:

Ten people went on trial in Paris Monday charged with sexist online harassment of Brigitte Macron, in the latest case linked to unsubstantiated gender claims made against the French first lady.

The trial comes after she and President Emmanuel Macron filed a defamation lawsuit in the United States at the end of July, in connection with a false claim amplified and repeated online that Brigitte Macron was assigned male at birth.

The claim has long targeted the presidential couple, alongside criticism of their quarter-century age gap.

The first lady was absent as the trial opened at a Paris criminal court for 10 defendants -- eight men and two women, aged 41 to 65 -- accused of cyber-harassment targeting Brigitte Macron.

Brigitte Macron, 72, is not expected to appear in court, but her daughter Tiphaine Auziere may testify on Tuesday, the first lady’s lawyer told AFP. If convicted, the defendants face up to two years in prison.

They have been accused of making numerous malicious comments about Brigitte Macron’s gender and sexuality”.