A Paris court on Monday found 10 people guilty of cyberbullying France’s first lady, Brigitte Macron, by spreading false online claims about her gender and sexuality, including allegations she was born a man.

One defendant was sentenced to six months in prison, while eight were handed suspended sentences between four and eight months. All 10 were mandated to attend cyberbullying awareness training.

The court pointed to “particularly degrading, insulting, and malicious” comments referring to false claims regarding alleged trans identity and alleged paedophilia criminality targeting Brigitte Macron. “Repeated publications have had cumulative harmful effects,” the court said.

The defendants, eight men and two women aged 41 to 65, were accused of having posted numerous comments falsely claiming that President Emmanuel Macron’s wife was born a man and likening their 24-year age gap to paedophilia. Some of the posts were viewed tens of thousands of times.

Brigitte Macron did not attend the two-day trial in October. Speaking on TF1 national television on Sunday, she said she launched legal proceedings to “set an example” in the fight against harassment.

Her lawyer, Jean Ennochi, said on Monday, “what is important is that there are immediate cyberbullying awareness trainings, and for some of the defendants, a ban on using their social media accounts.

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