What do we find in a miss's suitcase who is preparing to fly to Abidjan, to take part in the preparatory stay for the big Miss France election, on December 14 in Poitiers? Swimsuits of course, since the trip is the occasion for numerous photoshoots, generally carried out on a sunny seaside. Evening outfits and a few high heels too, for those required receptions. But Manon Le Maou, elected Miss Franche-Comté on September 21 in Dole, would like to add to her luggage an accessory that is rarely seen on a beauty queen: a pair of rangers.
“I don’t know if any somewhat sporty outings are planned,” admits the young woman from Villers-Saint-Martin, near Baume-les-Dames (25), “but I would like it, it would remind me of my job” . Joined the gendarmerie at just 19 years old, daughter of a gendarme, she admits to being as comfortable in the middle of a steep path as under the sunlight of the catwalks.
On the trails with his dogs
In her suitcase, however, Manon will not be able to put her five dogs – Australian shepherds, huskies and Samoyed -, which she will entrust, during her absence, to the affection of her loved ones. It is with them that she stays in shape by practicing canicross, a discipline which sees her running on the paths, harnessed to two of her animals, which she of course adores.
But in her suitcase, Miss Franche-Comté will undoubtedly slip her little girl's dreams, which, by her own admission, took a long time to blossom. “We watched the Miss France competition on TV every year. My family told me: you're tall (Editor's note: 1.74 m), you should introduce yourself… But I never dared. And then professional life grabbed me, the job of gendarme requires a lot of availability, I no longer had the mind for that.”
Victim of a serious accident
Until this day when, near Anduze (Gard), the soldier came close to death. “During a traffic stop, my teammate and I were hit by a motorist who refused to comply. We found ourselves in a ravine, bloodied, with a branch that had entered the passenger compartment of our car. » Recovered from this serious accident on duty, Manon, nicknamed “the miss” by her colleagues, then decides to realize this childhood dream, taking advantage of a relaxation of the rules of the Miss France Committee opening the competition to all women, regardless of regardless of their age.
This is how, at the age of 28, on professional leave since her election at Dole, she will compete on December 14 for the supreme title. If she appears in the last fifteen selected, she will discuss, at the microphone of the irremovable Jean-Pierre Foucault, the two causes that are close to her heart: animal protection and the prevention of domestic violence, to which she has often been confronted as a as a policeman.
Until then, in Abidjan for more than a week, she will be immersed with the other candidates. Competitors? “Yes, it’s a competition, but I don’t see it from that angle. Miss France is like the gendarmerie non-commissioned officer school, there is a final ranking where everyone tries to be best placed. But there is also an esprit de corps, which I hope to find with the misses. »
France
