Although she appears fully-clothed, French government minister Marlene Schiappa has caused a political scandal by appearing on the cover of the next edition of Playboy. Inside, an interview stretches to 12 pages.
A feminist by conviction and currently minister for “the social economy and French associations,” her Playboy move has caused annoyance at the top. Fellow feminist Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne called Schiappa to tell her that she was not behaving appropriately in the current situation while France is embroiled in a bitter dispute over pension reform.
Previously Minister for Gender Equality and a one-time writer of erotic fiction for women, Schiappa wrote on Twitter on Saturday that she was: “Defending the right of women to do what they want with their bodies: everywhere and all the time…. In France, women are free. Whether it annoys the retrogrades and hypocrites or not.”
Another female politician with strong views entered the fray on Saturday. Green MP and fellow women’s rights activist Sandrine Rousseau said: “Where is the respect for the French people… People who are going to have to work for two years more, who are demonstrating, who are losing days of salary, who aren’t managing to eat because of inflation?” she rhetorically asked the BFMTV channel on Saturday.
“Women’s bodies should be able to be exposed anywhere, I don’t have a problem with that. But there’s a social context,” she added.
Marlene Schiappa in the cover of Playboy
