French: Marlene Schiappa, a French government minister, has faced harsh criticism for appearing on the front cover of the men’s magazine Playboy, but she has defended her decision. Several French politicians, including Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, have criticized Schiappa, the Minister for the Social Economy and French Associations. Particularly, Schiappa is well-known for her support of women’s rights.
France’s moronic government strikes again:
Marlène Schiappa, 🇫🇷 Secretary of State to the Prime Minister, in charge of the Social and Solidarity Economy and Associative Life, poses on the front page of Playboy. pic.twitter.com/Jdp5CVag2y
— Daniel Foubert 🇵🇱 (@d_foubert) April 2, 2023
She introduced the 2018 groundbreaking law against street harassment, named after herself, as the previous and first-ever Gender Equality Minister, in which men who catcall or verbally abuse women in any way face on-the-spot fines. The popular French politician, on the other hand, is experiencing controversy after posing for the latest Playboy cover, on which she also offered her thoughts on her struggle for women’s and LGBT+ rights.
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Politicians, notably French Royal Minister Elisabeth Borne, have criticised her decision. Borne slammed Schiappa, saying it “wasn’t suitable, especially during this season,” according to BFMTV. France is currently experiencing political turbulence as a result of President Macron’s measures to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
Marlène Schiappa dans Playboy: la majorité embarrassée pic.twitter.com/M1P6sZxh8s
— BFMTV (@BFMTV) April 1, 2023
According to BFMTV, Prime Minister Borne stated, “Schiappa’s action was not right, especially at this time.” The French Prime Minister is thought to be referring to the turmoil caused by French President Emmanuel Macron’s widely criticized pension-age hike law.
Shiappa, a long-time supporter for women’s rights, has pushed for gender equality and spearheaded a French law prohibiting cat-calling, following, and harassing women on the street.
“In a country where the President expresses himself in Pif and his minister in Playboy, the difficulty would be the opposition,” said politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon in a tweet. “France is off the rails.”
In a tweet on Saturday night, Marlene Schiappa defended herself, saying, “Defending the right of women to dispose of their corpses is everywhere and all the time.”
“Women are free in France.” “With all due respect to the hypocrites and backsliders,” she remarked.
Marlène Schiappa dans “PlayBoy” : “Il ne s’agit pas de poser nue mais d’aborder des sujets importants”, défend Prisca Thévenot pic.twitter.com/EYy1CKNB3C
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) April 1, 2023
Playboy defended the spread, which will appear in the magazine’s French edition, saying it is not a “soft porn magazine.”
Schiappa was the “most ‘Playboy compatible'” of cabinet ministers “because she is devoted to women’s rights and she has recognised that it’s not a magazine for old machos but might be a weapon for the feminist cause,” AFP editor Jean-Christophe Florentin said.
