FIGAROVOX/MOOD – Let us rejoice that this program which makes rural and peripheral France visible is still being held in this sanitized era, urges the writer Thomas Morales on the eve of the Miss France competition, scheduled for this Saturday, December 14.
Thomas Morales is a writer and columnist at Causeur. Latest work published: Tender is the province (Ecuador, 2024).
Of course, we can sneer. For a long time, the election ensured the success of uninspired singers and imitators who mocked the naivety of the candidates and their awkwardness in front of the microphone. Since then, they have proven that they have resilience and that, contrary to Aznavour's song, their hearts have not turned sour. Many of them have made careers. This December folklore is expected as a saving remedy by citizens tired of parliamentary musical chairs.
The very principle of this election – young women participating in a beauty contest to represent France – could have something outdated, macho, reactionary, phallocratic and provincial in the light of the progressive values imposed by the puritanical powers of the era. The last spasm of the world before, that of the queens of agricultural and camping shows, this competition resists virtuous fakes and still brings together several million viewers, on a Saturday evening before the Christmas period. The channel and the organizing committee tried to polish the rough edges, to adapt to major trends, for fear of being caught by the social media patrol, by imposing, for example, an exclusively female jury for this 2025 edition. The bikini has, little by little, disappeared in favor of the one-piece swimsuit and candidates in their thirties today have every chance of winning – which is in line with the average age of marriage in our country , 37.5 years. I must admit that a Miss of 40 years old, or even 50 years old, would look great. I don't believe in youth privilege. If, at the margin, the strict rules of Geneviève de Fontenay have evolved to fit our times, this television show has not varied much from its initial objective: to find a pleasant girl who expresses herself well and will proudly carry our flag , from exhibitions to fashion shows, from prefectural salons to radio studios. Is this so shameful or decadent? Would pardon be a crime? Charm, a counter-revolutionary idea?
Of course, we will not escape the conventional discourse on animal abuse, the ravages of breast cancer, school bullying and invisible mental illnesses. Noble causes that no one would challenge on the air. And finally, this flow of good feelings will spare us for once the insanities of our political class whose downgrading in recent days signals the end of a regime. Fundamentally, this election has not changed the spirit. It is based on the plasticity and eloquence of French women from our “territories”who have the departmental fiber and the taste for traditions.
“All this population which does not have a voice in the media will exist through the Miss. Just for that, we say to them: thank you! »
Thomas Morales
The feminist movements will not have had the skin of this competition. They knew the fight was lost in advance. Because collectively, we love our Misses by natural instinct and we will still tremble for them when a good-natured and sometimes teasing Jean-Pierre Foucault asks them a question in front of the whole of France. It takes courage and contempt for “what will they say” to dare to face the crowd, to dare to appear for this national exam with the faith of a convert. Because these girls don't spit on our flag, whether they have a surname of French origin or not, it doesn't matter: they speak with one voice. For a moment, they embody national harmony. It is not so often that at prime time, our homeland will be praised, with a smile and the joy of belonging to such a beautiful nation. This is not the face of a rancid and revanchist France that we will see on Saturday December 14 at Futuroscope under the presidency of Sylvie Vartan. We will happily attend this extended family reunion.
All year long, we wait for this parenthesis like the passage of a stage of the Tour de France in a village in Berry. Few events bring together all generations in front of their screen, and also all social classes. Between cousins or friends, we will risk making predictions and we will praise the merits of our candidate for a night. They are the composite puzzle of a country which usually never gets talked about. They are polite and courteous, they are considerate with our elders and the children adore them. They are students, gendarmes, technical salespeople, pharmacists, all daughters of average French people, farmers, teachers, workers or executives. All this population which has no voice in the media, whether it comes from Lamentin or Morlaix, will exist through them. Just for that, we say to them: thank you!
