Ten French citizens will go to JAIL for making comments on First Lady Brigitte Macron’s gender. The court found these people guilty of cyberbulling Macron by claiming that she is a man. This ruling does NOT mean that she has proven that she is a woman. She still has not. The court ruled on harassment, not evidence. Macron did not “prove” anything beyond persuading a court that the speech caused harm under French law. That is precisely why this case is chilling. The French president and his wife used criminal law to punish their own constituents for speech about a public figure. In a society that claims to value free expression, that should alarm everyone. Article 11 of the EU Charter guarantees freedom of expression, yet there has been no meaningful condemnation from the European Union of a ruling that criminalizes speech about those in power. In a free society, people are allowed to question what their own eyes tell them, whether they are right or wrong. Courts are not meant to arbitrate truth through punishment, and governments are not meant to be insulated from speech by force of law. This case confirms that in France, speech about the government and its figures can now trigger criminal penalties, not merely civil liability. If you cannot offend the government, you do not live in a free society. The post This Is Chilling, France! appeared first on Redacted.