During the 93e edition of the Miss France competition, which took place on Saturday December 17 near Châteauroux, Miss Guadeloupe, Indira Ampiot, succeeded Diane Leyre, winner of the 2022 edition. Live on TF1, the final, followed in 2021 by 7.3 million viewerswas placed under the sign of the cinema, with tables inspired by the great successes of the box office, of which Titanic et Harry Potter. The fifteen finalists were announced during an Oscar-style sequence.
The jury, chaired by Francis Huster, notably brought together judo champion Clarisse Agbegnenou, producer Dominique Besnehard and singer Kendji Girac. Prevented, the singer and humorist Camille Lellouche was replaced by the actress Bérengère Krief. The finalists were decided 50/50 by the viewers and the jury.
Until now, only women between 18 and 24 years old, having no children and measuring at least 1.70 m could claim the envied title of Miss France. But this year, thirty regional misses, aged 18 to 26, medical, tourism or business students, physiotherapists, make-up artists and nurses competed.
If the minimum size remains, the competition decided this year to broaden its selection criteria: it is now open to all women over 18, without age limit, including married women, with or without children. A rule that applies even to transgender women, “from the moment the candidate has a female civil status”specifies Alexia Laroche-Joubert, new president of the Miss France society.
Two tattooed candidates… but no mother
In June, a transgender candidate, actress Andréa Furet (20), ran for Miss Paris, where she came second runner-up. Another innovation: visible tattoos are now allowed. “The terms of the competition, which have changed, are only a reflection of current societyexplains to Agence France-Presse (AFP) Cindy Fabre, Miss France 2005 and new director of the competition. Rare are the girls who are not tattooed. We had to adapt to that. » Furthermore, “You can also be a mother and compete. It’s all about organizationbelieves Cindy Fabre. Dads also have a more invested role than before. We take all of this into account. »
Geneviève de Fontenay, 90, the emblematic “lady in the hat” of the competition, opposes the idea of a Miss France mother, considering maternity incompatible with the schedule of a beauty queen, just like Sylvie Tellier, who, after seventeen years as general manager of the competition, has decided to leave this position to “entrepreneurial projects”.
The relaxation of the criteria has obviously not yet revolutionized the manners of the competition. If two of the thirty candidates in the running on Saturday are tattooed (Miss Languedoc and Miss Nord-Pas-de-Calais), none is a mother and the three oldest are only 26 years old (Miss Lorraine, Miss New Caledonia and Miss Picardy).
For Fabienne El-Khoury, spokesperson for the Osez le féminisme! association, the changes to the regulations “are just a lick of white paint on a moldy wall”. “It’s pure communication strategy. The very idea of organizing a sexist contest by nature, on physical aspects that the majority of French women cannot reach, is discriminatorytold AFP Mme El-Khoury. It is high time in 2022 to question the relevance of maintaining this competition from another age. » Dare feminism! initiated a procedure before the industrial tribunal of Bobigny against the “discriminatory criteria” of the Miss France contest. The decision is expected on January 6, 2023.