Un siècle de beauté : Scrutinizing the hidden fabric of Miss France
Special GB article by our columnist Nick C.
If you are a pageant observer (or if we are going to be more direct, a pageant fan), and if you ever came across one of the thousands of pageant-related channels on youtube, you certainly watched a video of a pageant vlogger gushing over the Miss France pageant. Even former pageant contestants talk hours and hours about what a spectacular show Miss France is. And they are not wrong: not only Miss France has huge domestic success in terms of TV ratings (around 8 million people watch it every year in France, which is approximately 13% of the whole population!), but also their winners have been recently doing extremely well in the two most important pageants: Miss World and Miss Universe. In addition, their winners have been successful as media personalities in France, regardless of how they do abroad. Miss France is a national institution.
To be more precise, I´d say that since Sylvie Tellier took over as the national director, Miss France had 1 Miss Universe, 2 Miss World first runner-ups, several finalists in both pageants, and more modern and upbeat production, without losing that magic classic touch. This respectable record is even more impressive if you think of the dismal placement record of other European countries nowadays. As a matter of fact, Miss France is the last-standing truly strong national beauty competition in Europe.
So, what makes Miss France a lightyear ahead of other national pageants? I am not contesting that they have the most amazing stage production, but what really interests me is how they can manage to put together such a great show? I feel like congratulations are due for Sylvie Tellier and her team because things have tremendously improved since they took over. But a vision is sometimes not enough: you also need financial resources to support your vision, and while I have not seen the balance sheets and income statements of the organization, it is clear to me (and probably to you) that they have enough sponsors to remain self-sufficient, with their head above the water during these uncertain times.
Then the next question becomes, why is Miss France so popular in France while most other national pageants in the Old Continent, which were as popular in the past (Spain, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Turkey, Portugal, etc), have fallen vertiginously?
The cynics among you may be quick to point fingers at the (allegedly) misogynistic French culture: at the end, this is the country that has the saying “tais-toi et soi belle” (shut up and be pretty), which could potentially explain the continuous local support in times of female-empowering social movements (the main reason why in most other European countries beauty pageants are either ignored or highly criticized). While I am not French, my partner is, and therefore I consider “La Belle France” as my adopted country, and I would disagree with the cynics. Here is my take on why Miss France remains strong and is here to stay:
Les contes de fées deviennent réalité (Fairy tales do come true).
The majority of Miss France contestants come from modest (some may say rural) backgrounds. And no other national or international pageant captures the “fairy tale” moments that captivate large masses better than Miss France. I suspect that is why they always start the pageant with a small video showcasing the contestants talking about their personal stories. This very long segment (especially for those of you who cannot speak French or who do not have subtitles) allows the French public to connect on a personal level with the contestants. Needless to say, it is good reality television. Average Pierre or Marie in au mileu de nulle part France (middle of nowhere France) immediately gets excited to see an ordinary French girl suddenly having the chance to reach fame and fortune.
Liberté, égalité, fraternité (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity): One big lesson some Grand Slam pageants may learn from Miss France is the diversity of its winners. Miss France has always been a bit ahead of other pageants as they crowned winners from every corner of the Hexagon (a nickname for France due to its shape) and beyond (from overseas departments). I would argue that they were even ahead of the national and international trends in the sense that some of their winners were subject to threats and abuse from growing racism within the country. One of the first black winners, Sonia Rolland had even received death threats sent to her home.
Last year, the first runner-up April Benayoum (she is the current Miss World France and a Miss World 2021 quarter-finalist) received so much abuse in the social media after the pageant for having a Jewish father that even the internal minister had to voice support for her. By crowning winners with racial diversity, Miss France, thus, started a conversation for the whole of France, and had a huge social impact above and beyond its weight.
Sometimes, doing the right thing, even if it means swimming against the tide, pays off. On a final thought, they also host the pageant all around the Hexagon and in the French overseas departments, which makes it even more inclusive.
Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis (Regional Competition).
One thing about France (and other European countries like Germany, Italy, and Spain- not to mention Belgium) is regional pride.
Mayotte, an overseas department and region and single territorial collectivity of France, located in the northern part of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, holds a pageant to select its representative for Miss France every year. It happens in all other French departments.
You may know that the most successful French comedy of all time is Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis (Welcome to the Sticks), a 2008 picture about a gentleman from the south being transferred to Northern France (home region of France´s second Miss Universe, Iris Mitteneare) for work, or rather as a punishment, facing tremendous culture shock. Unless you are familiar with the subtle cultural differences in France, you may not find it that funny (to be honest I still do not get most of it), but the point here is: the French support their “Miss” as if they are supporting their local football team, and I have once witnessed two football hooligans having a fight over Miss France pageant in Paris. Instead of giving numbers to contestants (like Miss Turkey does), Miss France gives regional sashes (like in the USA, Brazil, Venezuela etc) and uses the competition between its “departments” to its advantage. And you were wondering why so many people call to vote…
Appeler un chat un chat (Transparency of voting).
Another thing I appreciate about Miss France is combining a respectable jury with public voting. While in the past they had a few faux-pas like making Alain Delon “le président” of the jury despite his discriminatory views against every minority you can think of (not to mention he admitted slapping women…), recently it feels like a place in the judging panel of France is almost a reward for making France proud. Amir was invited after finishing 6th in Eurovision Song Contest in 2016, tennis player Caroline Garcia was invited after reaching number 4 in the WTA rankings. I strongly suspect Barbara Pravi will be invited very soon for her podium finish in Eurovision 2021. Talking about Eurovision, it also uses a similar voting system where 50% percent of the score is from the professional jury votes, and the other half comes from televoting. And from a strategic perspective, this is brilliant: you want a winner that would fit into the entertainment industry and who catches the eye of the professionals within, but you also want to capture the public mood, ending with a winner for the masses. And this is one of the secrets behind MF’s recent success. Eurovision goes one step further: they announce the ranking of each and every jury member (and there are a lot of them) after the contest. I wonder whether any of the international pageants would be brave enough to do something similar: imagine having a professional jury and the public vote and imagine if the pageant published the details of the jury voting (like Eurovision does) and the public vote (like Miss France does) after the show in their website. Not only the beauty-nerds would have a field day, but also the pageant will gain so much transparency and accountability, putting them a level above the rest. My two cents for the day…
This year was the 100th anniversary of Miss France. So, joyeux anniversaire from me!
Also, congratulations on a job very, very well done. Once again, the Hexagon spoiled us with an extraordinary group of candidates. I thought the show was spectacular as usual but more theatrical than ever. The opening displayed catwalk strutting and dancing with famous Broadway shows or Hollywood movie themes (Lion King, Mamma Mia, Mary Poppins, and La La Land) with custom-made costumes for the contestants, in addition to their customary introductory videos.
In this segment, Tahiti was the first contestant that caught my eye. She was not only beautiful, but she also had so much presence. While their walk (not to mention their dancing) was not exactly great, there were many others whom I could imagine with a Universe or World crown on their heads. Guyane, for example, had the face of the pageant and Lorraine was very elegant. I knew Aquitaine would make it with her great smile, and Corse (Corsica) with her sex appeal. Cote d’Azur was tall and looked like a supermodel. Alsace looked like the love child of Monica Belucci and Jean-Paul Belmondo. Martinique had a stunning face, but I thought she should smile a bit more. Finally, the eventual winner, Ile-de-France had the complete package, and she was clearly a shoo-in for the top 15, and most likely the top 5.
I know it is a cliché, but I sincerely thought the judging panel (Jean-Pierre Pernaut, Francois Alu, Amel Bent, Philippe Lacheau, Ines Reg, Ahmed Sylla, and Delphine Wespiser) had a very difficult job that night. When the top 15 were announced and they had to say a few words to introduce themselves: Languedoc-Roussilon (who choked a bit), Tahiti (a shoo-in for top 5), Pays de la Loire (that was a surprise for me), Côte d'Azur (she should be sent to some Grand Slam pageant, Miss International maybe), Martinique (great introduction), Normandie (with loud cheers from the home crowd), Rhône-Alpes (those eyes, those eyes….), Lorraine (cute as a button), Reunion (face of a Miss India but stage presence of a Miss Venezuela), Alsace (spoke with great confidence), Nord-Pas-de-Calais (the powerhouse of Miss France), Guyane (incredible face), Corse (would be perfect for Miss Grand International), Aquitaine (who had a great sense of humor), and Ile-de-France (who talked about her region being multicultural and emphasized the importance of living together).
Now, the voting, which was announced later, is quite interesting. The jury gave top marks to Tahiti and Ile-de-France, and their other 3 choices for Top 5 were Normandie (3rd), Aquitaine, Réunion, and Nord-pas-de-Calais (tied for 4th). The public, on the other hand, put Martinique on top, Ile-de-France as second, Rhône-Alpes as third, Alsace as 4th, and Tahiti as 5th. I have to side more with the judges here. Their combined votes determined the top 5, which were Martinique, Alsace, Ile-de-France, Normandie, and Tahiti. In all honesty, I would have replaced Alsace with either Reunion, or Nord-pas-de-Calais (or even Aquitaine). I also feel like while Normandie is beautiful, she received a small push for being the host contestant. A closer look at the votes reveals that Ile-de-France was leading at that point with 29 points, followed by Tahiti (26 points), Martinique with 24 points, Normandy with 23 points, and Alsace with 21 points. As I predicted, Aquitaine (6th) missed the cut just by 1 point, Reunion (7th) with just 2 points, Nord-pas-de-Calais (8th) with 3 points, and Rhône-Alpes (9th) with 4 points.
During the top 5 interviews, Miss Martinique was asked about the French national hero Josephine Baker and how women’s strength should be defined, which she responded by saying it depends on how they showcase themselves, and what they dare to do- and then linked her answer to her desire to be the first woman from her island to win the crown. I honestly thought that was a weak answer, and I was not surprised to learn later that the judges ranked her in 5th place. Astonishingly, the public once again put her on top. Miss Alsace was asked if the Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity motto is still relevant. She also personalized her answer (I guess she had the same coach as Miss Martinique), linking it to her job as a pharmacist and her role as a beauty queen. The strongest part of her answer was saying that the motto is still relevant as we are still fighting for equality between men and women. The judges ranked her as 4th, while the public put her in second place. Ile-de-France was asked what she would say to children worried about the pandemic. She said we should thank and congratulate them for going through tough times and protecting their parents/grandparents. While my translation may not fully reflect the strength of her answer, the moment she stopped talking, I knew it was game-over for other contestants. In the end, she was the judges’ top choice and the third choice of the public. Normandie was asked how cultural diversity enriches us. She gave a rather vague answer, saying she is proud to be French. And I was surprised to learn that she was the joint second choice for the judges (while the public put her 5th)). Finally, Tahiti was asked if Miss France is sexist. She answered it quite well, emphasizing that it is womens’ choice to compete, give pictures or walk on a stage wearing swimwear. I thought that was the 2nd best answer of the night, and while the judges agreed, the public put her only 4th. Given those rankings, Ile-de-France won, Martinique was second, Alsace was third, Tahiti was 4th and Normandie was 5th.
If I were in the shoes of MF organizers, I would be worried about how judges rated Miss Martinique. As both Miss Universe and Miss World are evaluated by (mostly) a panel of judges, the smart move would be to send the new Miss France (Ile-de-France) to both Miss Universe and Miss World, if possible. As I mentioned earlier, I think Miss France should also start sending representatives to other Grand Slam pageants (Miss Grand International, Miss International, Miss Supranational) regularly because they have a large number of excellent candidates with winning potential.
Wrapping it up, I must say that the greatest national pageant not only in Europe (where today it stands alone), but in the entire world, managed to crown another fantastic and competitive queen. Félicitations!
Special thanks to Nick C!