French Politician Marlène Schiappa Posed For A Playboy Cover & The Reactions Are So Intense
France's PM said it “was not at all appropriate."
Marlène Schiappa
French politician Marlène Schiappa is causing quite a stir after posing for the cover of Playboy in France, where many are blasting her for the decision.
Schiappa, who has been in government since 2017 and is currently the minister for the social economy, appears on the latest cover of the French edition of Playboy magazine. She doesn't go nude in the magazine, but other French politicians have still been criticizing her for the move, reported CNN.
Schiappa, 40, will appear on the cover of the magazine for the April edition in France, reported the BBC.
Although Schiappa did her magazine appearance fully clothed and also gave a feature interview on topics like women’s and LGBTQ+ rights, the results have still proven divisive.
Gender equality is a topic that Schiappa has fought for in her campaigns for years, and she was a key figure behind a French law that banned the harassment of women and catcalling, reported The Independent.
Playboy France has not yet released the cover, although others have seemingly found the photos and posted them online.
\u201cFrance\u2019s moronic government strikes again:\n\nMarl\u00e8ne Schiappa, \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7 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.\u201d— Daniel Foubert \ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf1 (@Daniel Foubert \ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf1) 1680399668
Despite her hard work around women's rights and gender equality, other female politicians in the French government are not so forgiving toward Schiappa.
Most notably, French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne has been highly critical of Schiappa and called her feature on the cover of the magazine inappropriate.
Borne said Schiappa’s decision “was not at all appropriate, especially in the current period,” per the BBC.
The "current period" would be in reference to the French government's plan to bump up the retirement age from 62 to 64, in a move that has sparked major protests against French President Emmanuel Macron.
The French Green MP Sandrine Rousseau echoed Borne’s sentiment and spoke on the matter, saying, "Women's bodies should be able to be exposed anywhere, I don't have a problem with that, but there's a social context.”
Schiappa defended her decision in a tweet.
“Defending the right of women to do what they want with their bodies, everywhere and all the time,” tweeted Schiappa. “In France, women are free. Whether it annoys the retrogrades and hypocrites or not.”
\u201cD\u00e9fendre le droit des femmes \u00e0 disposer de leurs corps, c\u2019est partout et tout le temps. \nEn France, les femmes sont libres. \nN\u2019en d\u00e9plaise aux r\u00e9trogrades et aux hypocrites.\n#Playboy\u201d— \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7 MarleneSchiappa (@\ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7 MarleneSchiappa) 1680357980
Although Schiappa has received a lot of backlash from her fellow politicians, she’s seen a fair amount of support from the public.
People have been dropping supportive comments under her more recent Instagram posts, with one user commenting, “Awesome the pics in Playboy... The haters are ranting.”
“But what does it matter to you that this woman is in Playboy? I say bravo to the freedom of the woman and her body, bravo,” wrote another commenter under her second most-recent Instagram post.
\u201cInvit\u00e9 ce matin sur Europe1 le Ministre de l\u2019int\u00e9rieur @GDarmanin apporte son soutien \u00e0 @MarleneSchiappa sur sa Une Une de #playboy. Il cite Cookie Dingler : \u00ab\u00a0vous ne me ferez pas dire de mal de Marl\u00e8ne Schiappa (\u2026) \u00eatre une femme lib\u00e9r\u00e9e, c\u2019est pas si facile\u00a0\u00bb\u201d— Jeanne Baron (@Jeanne Baron) 1680426181
Playboy France editor Jean-Christophe Florentin said Schiappa was the most "Playboy compatible" government minister for the magazine because of her stance on women's rights.
Florentin also defended the magazine to AFP, saying it's "not a soft porn magazine, but a 300-page quarterly 'mook,'" or a blend of magazine and book.
He says there are "still a few undressed women" while claiming that's not the majority of the publication.
The magazine and Schiappa's interview are due out later in April.