It was a little over 4 months ago, near Saint-Raphaël in an oppressive heat. At the end of the night, the destiny of Mégane Bertaud changes: the beautiful Provençal woman is elected Miss Provence 2024 and will proudly wear the colors of the region in the national election this Saturday, December 14 on the Futuroscope stage in Poitiers.
“I loved the show, this enthusiasm. It's really a special emotion“, remembers the young woman. At the age of 24, Mégane Bertaud was far from imagining herself in this place. “It's a real challenge for me. It's about facing my fears, especially those of judgments and the looks of othersshe confides. I have always been attracted by the stage, by this discovery but I have always been shy about it“.
“A young woman's dream”
A restraint which, however, does not prevent him from shining. “It’s an experience that will make me grow and mature even more.”estimates the young woman. With a good dose of courage and the unfailing support of those close to her, Mégane finally decided to let herself be tempted by the adventure.
“It was never a little girl's dream. It's truly a young woman's dream“, claims the beautiful Varoise. Mature, perfectionist and determined, the Raphaëloise also has a strong character. An essential attribute in her job as a management assistant which she exercises, far from the podiums and the glitter, in a construction company.
The competition is not in provocation, vulgarity
Although the competition has evolved in recent years, now allowing young married women or mothers, as well as those over 24 years old, to apply, the institution still remains targeted by certain detractors. They criticize Miss France in particular for projecting a negative image of women, judged solely on their appearance.
A role of “simple model” which was true for a time, certainly, but which today seems definitively over and in total disagreement with society. “The competition cannot please everyone. It's not degrading in the sense that the person showing up intended it to be. She's there for fun, she knows what to expect, she saw it in previous editionsargues Mégane Bertaud, aware that viewers have fun judging the Misses, mocking them in front of their TV. Miss France is not into provocation, vulgarity“.
“Miss France assumes her ideas”
From table to table, the 30 candidates will perform choreographies, proudly wear the colors of their native region and present themselves in a pre-recorded clip. The contenders followed training for several weeks to learn French elegance, likes to remind Cindy Fabre, director of Miss France. And were also tested on their general knowledge during their preparation trip to Ivory Coast.
Only the 12 qualified by the committee will then be questioned by Jean-Pierre Foucault on different themes. More than during the parade, this is where some score valuable points to seduce the jury, convince the public or, on the contrary, collapse.
“Miss France is a woman who owns her ideas. She must be autonomous, independent. We wanted this equality between women and men so much, it is starting to evolve in this directionclame Miss Provence 2024. The woman of 2025 is beautiful, intelligent, but also full of projects. Society is evolving and so is the competition. Before it was only focused on the physical beauty of a woman, today it is more focused on her inner beauty, her qualities. It is no longer the woman because of what she is physically but what she is internally. And that’s what I like about Miss France.“.
After the first runners-up, Lou Ruat in December 2019 in Marseille and April Benayoum near Puy du Fou, but also the second runner-up sash of Adélina Blanc last year near Dijon, Mégane Bertaud will try to swap her scarf blue stamped with an immaculate Miss Provence against that of Miss France 2025. And succeed 45 years later to Sylvie Paréra, last Miss regional to be crowned in the competition.
