Under the leadership of Alexia Laroche-Joubert, new president of the Miss France society, the annual competition, among the best TV audiences, has decided to broaden its selection criteria.
Until now, only women between the ages of 18 and 24 with no children and measuring at least 1.70 meters could claim the title of “beauty queen”.
If the size criteria remain unchanged, the contest is now open to women over 18, with no age limit, including married, with or without children.
“We decided to change the rules, taking inspiration from the rules of Miss Universe”explained Alexia Laroche-Joubert, with the aim also of allowing the regional committees to accept more and more diverse applications.
Despite the relaxation of the regulations, no mother candidate for the final: only a young woman of 27, married and mother of a little girl, presented herself in Alsace, without being elected.
Another major development, transgender applications are now accepted, “from the moment the candidate has a female civil status”, said Ms. Laroche-Joubert. In June, a first transgender candidate, actress Andréa Furet (20), ran for Miss Paris, where she came second runner-up.
A new point of the rules which makes Geneviève de Fontenay, 90, “Miss of Misses”, jump, expressing her “dismay” to AFP.
Three candidates aged 26 and over
The emblematic “lady in the hat” also opposes the idea of a Miss France mother, considering motherhood incompatible with the schedule of a beauty queen, just like Sylvie Tellier who after 17 years at the head of general of the competition, has decided to leave this post to “entrepreneurial projects”.
Visible tattoos are also now allowed. Two candidates in the running on Saturday will be tattooed: Miss Languedoc and Miss Nord-Pas-de-Calais.
Presented by Jean-Pierre Foucault and Sylvie Tellier, the ceremony will feature 30 regional misses, including three 26-year-old candidates: Miss Lorraine, Miss New Caledonia and Miss Picardy.
Live on TF1, the final followed last year by 7.3 million viewers will be placed under the sign of the cinema, with tables inspired by the great successes of the box office, including “Titanic” and “Harry Potter”.
The jury chaired by Francis Huster will notably bring together judo champion Clarisse Agbegnenou, singer and humorist Camille Lellouche, producer Dominique Besnehard and singer Kendji Girac. The finalists will be decided 50/50 by the viewers and the jury.
For Fabienne El Khoury, spokesperson for the association “Osez le féminisme!”, the changes to the regulations “are just a coat of white paint on a moldy wall”.
“It’s pure communication strategy. The very idea of organizing a sexist competition by nature on physical aspects that the majority of French women cannot reach, is discriminatory”, Ms. El Khoury told AFP. “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. Decision on January 6.