A French government minister has sparked outrage after posing for the cover of men’s magazine Playboy.
Marlene Schiappa, the Minister of Social Economy, is fully clothed in the photo shoot for the April issue in France, but she has drawn the ire of her political opponents and colleagues alike.
The country’s prime minister, Elizabeth Bourne, described Schiappa’s decision as “completely inappropriate, especially in the current period”.
In recent weeks, France has seen a series of violent clashes between police and striking workers who are angry at President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age by two years to 64.
Prime Minister Bourne’s criticism was echoed by Greens MP and women’s rights campaigner Sandrine Russo, who questioned the timing of the move. She told TV channel BFM: “Women’s bodies should be able to be exposed anywhere, I have no problem with that, but there is a social context.”
On Saturday, Schiappa, 40, defended her decision to appear in the magazine, writing on Twitter: “I defend the right of women to do what they want with their bodies: everywhere and at all times. In France, women are free. Whether it annoys retrograde and hypocritical or not”.
Her photos will be accompanied by an interview about women’s and gay rights, as well as abortion.
The French social minister is a regular guest on French TV talk shows and was a feminist writer before embarking on a career in politics. She has written about the challenges of motherhood, women’s health and pregnancy.
While equalities minister in 2018, Marlene Schiappa introduced legislation to ban street catcalling and harassment.
But this isn’t the first time she’s been embroiled in controversy.
Back in 2010, she wrote a book of sexual advice for overweight people, perceived by some critics as reinforcing harmful clichés. In 2017, however, he incurred displeasure for visiting the so-called “forbidden zone for women” in Paris.
The editor of Playboy’s French-language edition supported Schiappa’s decision to appear in the magazine, describing her as the “most Playboy-compatible” minister in Macron’s cabinet due to her strong and vocal support for women’s rights.
He also defended the magazine itself, which has long angered feminists for what some see as its objectification of women’s bodies.
“Playboy is not a soft porn magazine, but a 300-page quarterly ‘mook’ (mix of book and magazine) that is intellectual and trendsetter,” he said.
According to Florentine, although the magazine still contains “a few undressed women…they are not the majority of the pages”.
