This Saturday, December 24, for Christmas Eve, TF1 invites us to dive back into one of the oldest competitions in France, that of Miss France, with anecdotes sometimes unknown to the general public.
“Me Miss France?” This Saturday at 4:10 p.m., TF1 will offer viewers watching their television before Christmas Eve an exceptional documentary. baptized Miss France: In the secrets of the contestthis one traces the story of an extraordinary beauty contest, which continues to attract millions of viewers each year with anecdotes and emotional moments in the company of the most emblematic Misses, including Sonia Rolland, who returns on her year as Miss against a background of racist remarks.
Geneviève De Fontenay received death threats against Sonia Roland
“Smile, France is watching you!”Geneviève De Fontenay did not mean so well when she spoke to Sonia Rolland one evening in December 1999. Having become a model then an actress, Miss France 2000 recounts how she lived her year: “My election unfortunately unleashed some of the French people who could not bear the idea that a Miss France was of African origin,” she explains, “Madame De Fontenay received insulting letters, death threats (…) my mother who received excrement in envelopes, all that, you had to be able to live with at 18. She mentions her wish not to talk about it at the time because “The most beautiful answer we can offer to all these people is my smile.” A “hysterization” also mentioned by Sylvie Tellier – who left the general management of Miss France at the end of the 2023 election. The documentary thus shows feminist activists inviting themselves during a trip by the various candidates, clashing with people “pro Miss”.
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Pre-sorting of mail now in effect
Another anecdote, and in particular following the abuses of the past, the Miss France company carries out a first sorting in the mails that fans send to the winner: “We receive a lot of letters (…) and it’s true that there can unfortunately be people with not necessarily good intentions who can write, so it’s important that I don’t come across letters that could hurt or even that are sometimes sexual in nature,” explains Diane Leyre, Miss France 2022.
