French minister to appear on Playboy front cover
Marlene Schiappa, who is minister for social economy and associations in Emmanuel Macron’s government, will feature fully clothed alongside a 12-page interview in the French edition of the magazine.
Her decision to appear on the cover has been criticised by fellow politicians who are currently facing a huge backlash over Mr Macron’s pension reforms.
The increase in state pension age from 62 to 64 has triggered the worst strikes and violent protests France has seen in years.
Green MP Sandrine Rousseau told TV channel BFM: “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.
Ms Schiappa is a minister in Emmanuel Macron’s government© Reuters
“Women’s bodies should be able to be exposed anywhere, I don’t have a problem with that, but there’s a social context.”
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Born was reported to have called Ms Schiappa to tell her the cover is “not at all appropriate – especially in the current period”.
But mother-of-two Ms Schiappa defended her decision on Twitter.
“Defending the right of women to do what they want with their bodies: everywhere and all the time,” she wrote.
“In France, women are free. Whether it annoys the retrogrades and hypocrites or not.”
French Playboy editor Jean-Christophe Florentin said Ms Schiappa was the “most Playboy compatible” of her colleagues because of her feminist views.
The magazine is available to buy from 8 April, according to Le Parisien newspaper.
Ms Schiappa was an author and blogger focusing on women’s issues before she was appointed as a junior minister by Mr Macron in 2017.
In her former role as equalities minister, she brought forward legislation to make cat-calling and street harassment illegal.
She also praised a #MeToo era French social media campaign entitled “expose your pig“.
