French beauty contest ends in scandal over winner’s hairstyle

For the first time in the history of the Miss France beauty pageant, a participant with a pixie haircut won. The winner was criticized not only because of her hairstyle, but also for her “insufficient form” and thinness. Even French politicians got involved in the dispute.

Eva Gilles, 20, from Nord-Pas-de-Calais in the north of the country, was crowned by previous beauty pageant winner Indira Ampio in front of 7.5 million television viewers. However, everything would have gone unnoticed if the public had not been outraged by the new Miss France.

“We are used to seeing beautiful Misses with long hair, but I chose an androgynous look with short hair,” Eva Gilles explained her move. She called her victory a “victory for diversity” and added: “No one should dictate who you are. Every woman is unique, we are all unique.”

The winner of the competition is chosen half by public voting and half by a jury. Although Gilles only placed third in the public vote, the panel of judges placed her in first place.

Eva Gilles was the first winner in the 103-year history of the competition who does not have long hair. To the disappointment of some French people, who attacked not only the girl’s hairstyle, but also her thinness.

“Miss France”» “is no longer a beauty pageant, but a wokism competition based on inclusivity,” wrote one user. He was supported by some other social network users, even accusing Gilles of “instilling Vokist values ​​in society.”

Other negative comments included one who noted, “she doesn’t look like Miss France,” carefully adding that “we don’t care about her hair, but the androgynous body is obviously meant to serve the interests of the wokists.”

But a whole army of defenders of the young beauty began to actively respond to such critical comments:

“Maybe the new Miss France isn’t great in your eyes, but to see her as a vocalist because she has short hair… It’s just funny.”

“Eva Gilles is the new Miss France 2024, your spiteful and useless criticism will not change that, she is magnificent.”

Suddenly the French establishment got involved in this virtual “mixture”. MP Sandrine Rousseau sided with Eva Gilles’ defenders: “So in France in 2023 we will measure the progress of respect for women by the length of their hair?” Russo, by the way, also wears a pixie haircut.

Another MP, Karima Delli, wrote on her social network page: “Great support for Eva Gilles in the face of hateful tweets on social networks filled with incredible violence! Swallow your poison, not only is she gorgeous, Miss Nord – Pas de Calais embraces her diversity intelligently!”

National Secretary of the Communist Party Fabien Roussel also intervened and wrote words of support for Miss France. Even Marine Le Pen congratulated Eva on her victory.

Actress Beatrice Rosen, who preferred another contestant, also defended the new Miss: “Attacking the physical body is an attack below the belt, and it is unfair to place all the ideological criticism of wokism on a young 20-year-old woman. This young woman is beautiful and feminine, “despite” her short hair. I was and still am a fan of the exceptional beauty of Audrey Hepburn, Linda Evangelista or Jean Seberg, all three, very thin, with short hair, who are nevertheless female icons adored by the whole world.”

Eva Gilles herself pursued a very specific goal. In November, she told French news outlet BFM Grand Lille: “I especially want to protect the image of women. Show that they can do what they want, that they can be whoever they want. I want to break codes, show that women can be different, that we don’t need to be pushed into a box. That’s what I want to show.”

Gilles, who was born in Dunkirk, is the youngest of three sisters and says it was her grandfather who inspired her to take part in the competition: “My family is really very important. This is my little cocoon. We are very close, we did everything together.”

The girl studies mathematics and computer science at the University of Lille and goes to see her family every weekend. She initially began studying medicine, but “didn’t like it.” For some time she worked in a factory “to earn money.”