Dangerous and psychopathic: Candace Owens attacks Brigitte Macron after French cyberbullying convictions

American right-wing political commentator Candace Owens has launched a fresh attack on French First Lady Brigitte Macron after a Paris criminal court convicted ten people for cyberbullying over false claims about her gender and sexuality. The court found the accused guilty of creating and spreading hateful online remarks alleging that Brigitte Macron was born a man, claims French judges described as malicious and degrading.

Reacting to reports on the convictions, Owens criticised France’s cyberbullying laws, arguing that the verdicts were being misrepresented as proof of Brigitte Macron’s identity rather than an application of strict online speech regulations. Posting on X, Owens said headlines were “written in a way to deceive the public,” insisting that the case was about cyberbullying laws rather than factual determination.

Owens, who is herself facing a defamation lawsuit filed by President Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron over similar allegations, doubled down on her claims in a series of posts. She went further by calling the French First Lady “dangerous” and “psychopathic,” using highly inflammatory language while reiterating her long-standing assertions about Macron’s past.

In one post, Owens alleged that Brigitte Macron had abused her power to silence critics, accusing her of securing convictions against people discussing what Owens described as a “dark past.” She also referenced the couple’s widely known age gap of 24 years, noting that they first met when Emmanuel Macron was a student at a Jesuit high school in Amiens where Brigitte was a teacher.

According to French daily Le Monde, the cyberbullying posts circulated widely on social media, attracting tens of thousands of views. Presiding judge Thierry Donard said the allegations, including insinuations of pedophilia, were deliberately insulting and harmful.

Of the ten convicted individuals, eight received suspended prison sentences of four to eight months. One defendant was sentenced to six months in prison for failing to appear in court. Three people identified as key instigators were ordered to suspend their social media accounts for six months. All were also directed to complete an online hate speech awareness course and collectively pay €10,000 in moral damages to Brigitte Macron.