In a groundbreaking moment for the Miss France pageant, 20-year-old Eve Gilles emerged victorious, proudly declaring her short hair as a triumph for diversity. Gilles, hailing from a village near Dunkirk in northern France, stood out as the sole contestant in this year’s competition sporting a cropped hairstyle.
Addressing the audience in Dijon, where she was crowned in front of 5,000 pageant enthusiasts, Gilles asserted, “No one should dictate who you are. We’re used to seeing beautiful Misses with long hair, but I chose an androgynous look with short hair. Every woman is different; we’re all unique.”
The scoring system, with half the points determined by viewers and the other half by a jury of seven women, reflected a blend of public opinion and expert judgment. Despite some criticism suggesting political motivations, social media responses were largely positive.
On platforms like X, admirers expressed support for Gilles, emphasizing her beauty and dismissing critiques of her selection as misplaced. “Maybe the new #MissFrance isn’t gorgeous in your eyes, but seeing wokeism in her because she has short hair… It’s just ridiculous,” noted one user.
Gilles’s victory follows a recent court decision that required a French broadcaster and television production house to compensate two former Miss France finalists for inappropriate filming that exposed their bare breasts without consent. Despite such controversies, Alexia Laroche-Joubert, CEO of Banijay France, the owner of the Miss France brand, defended the pageant as a symbol of success and a social elevator for contestants who have pursued diverse careers.
Laroche-Joubert highlighted the pageant’s modernization, including the elimination of age limits and the inclusion of married or transgender participants. However, critics argue that these changes are insufficient. Melinda Bizri of the Human Rights League in Dijon, which called for a boycott of the ceremony, labeled the adjustments as “feminist-washing.”
“Women have been conforming to unrealistic criteria for too long,” remarked Bizri, emphasizing the need to deconstruct beauty standards. Violaine de Filippis, spokesperson for the Dare Feminism! association, added, “Miss France is still just as sexist in the way it classifies women according to beauty criteria.” The debate surrounding the pageant’s role in promoting diversity and breaking traditional norms remains at the forefront of public discussion.
