Photos of Marlène Schiappa in Playboy magazine have been unveiled. The minister justifies her choice in the columns of the magazine, not without sarcasm and by dwelling on her commitments to the cause of women and gender equality.
Photographed as a modern Marianne for the cover of Playboy, Marlène Schiappa would almost like to be an allegory of female emancipation and even more: of women’s sexual freedom. The minister, whose initiative displeased until Matignon, presents her interview and the pictures granted to the charming magazine as a militant act. And as proof, the former Secretary of State for Equality between Women and Men clung to the same refrain over the course of her answers: “We must not judge women but support them whatever their choice”. An indirect response to the criticisms that have been aimed at her since the announcement of her presence in the pages of the magazine with a sulphurous reputation? The government itself disapproved of an “inappropriate” intervention in the words of the Prime Minister, according to the indiscretions of franceinfo.
This disruptive communication is however the trademark of Marlène Schiappa who herself reminds Playboy that “authenticity, sincerity and being cash” characterize her. It is with this very free, and not very formal, tone that the minister emphasized sexual freedom, the empowerment and emancipation of women, fundamental subjects “no offense to the retrograde”.
Marlène Schiappa in a tight flesh-colored dress, draped in a thick red fabric on a midnight blue background. Marlène Schiappa in a puffy white dress and tricolor cockade on the heart. Marlène Schiappa dressed in a tight white Marianne-style dress, French flag in hand. And finally, Marlène Schiappa in a tight blue and shiny dress, midnight blue cape on the back always accompanied by the tricolor flag. These are the captions that could be attached to the photos of Marlène Schiappa which will be published in Playboy magazine and which Paris Match has unveiled as of this Tuesday, April 4, 2023. Objective? Symbolizing an uninhibited Marianne, reports the weekly. These new shots are also available in the tweet below:
Undeniably, the status of women is at the heart of Marlène Schiappa’s interview in Playboy. If the minister was the governmental figure in this struggle from 2017 to 2020, today it is no longer on her that this portfolio depends but on the Secretary of State, Isabelle Rome. So is Marlène Schiappa’s voice still as legitimate? Certainly for the interviewee who maintains that “to ensure that women and men have the same rights” is her political fight. If the commitment is commendable, its links with the Social and Solidarity Economy and the Associative Life Ministry, to which Marlène Schiappa was appointed in August 2022, are unclear.
On several occasions, the minister recalled her investment in the cause of equality between women and men, in particular her intervention at the UN in March 2023 on the occasion of the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. . Subject on which “France is the leader” underlines Marlène Schiappa. Which adds to defend a “universal feminism” which considers “intolerable for the daughters of others what we find intolerable for our own daughters” and this on the whole surface of the globe. The minister’s speech also made a detour on “the protection of women against violence [which is] fundamental”, whether the attacks take place in the professional sphere or are marital. “‘At home’ is supposed to be the place where you are safe, relaxed, not vigilant. However, this is where there is the most violence”, insisted the minister. This sometimes trivialized violence, Marlène Schiappa confesses that she has not escaped it without wanting to dwell on it: “Obviously, like many women, I have experienced inappropriate behavior and even aggression or violence on the part of men. I never wanted to tell it in detail, because it’s my business and because I don’t want to be victimized. I am committed today not to what I have been able to experience, but to what should benefit all other women in terms of protection and rights.”
After an interview with the President of the Republic in Pif, the announcement of the cover of Playboy with Marlène Schiappa was only a second surprise in government communication. Only, it took the executive by surprise and embarrassed since no one at the Elysee Palace or at Matignon was aware of this interview according to information from RTL. However, as the radio reminds us, the interviews carried out in the media by the various members of the government are usually validated beforehand at the top of the State.
If criticism from the majority has become rare, Marlène Schiappa has nevertheless been singled out, described as “freewheeling” or responsible for a “real problem of messages that we are passing on”. But the first female politician to make the front page of Playboy is not her first notable outing. The minister had notably been one of the first personalities of the majority to give importance to the visibility of her political camp in the program TPMP of Cyril Hanouna subscriber to the buzz.
What if these communication choices were designed to make his voice heard? “It’s sometimes a little frustrating, I spent several days at the UN defending the status of women in the world and very few people talk about it, by the way, thank you Playboy for talking about it! On the other hand, if I’m creating a buzz or a controversy, everyone will talk about it”, she pointed out to the charming magazine, as if echoing the controversy aroused by her photo on the cover of the rabbit magazine in the edition of the 6 april. According to Marlène Schiappa, her communication is above all because of her personality: “I’m quite natural, those who know me, who like me or who don’t like me, all recognize me for being sincere and authentic in what I say”, without forgetting the manner or medium in which it is said. A sincerity which turns out to be an “asset” even if the minister recognizes that “it is quite difficult when you are a politician to find the right balance”. As a solution, the interviewee said to play the natural card: “I’m not trying to look like anyone, I’m already Marlène Schiappa and it’s quite difficult like that”.
According to Le Parisien, which revealed the information, a 12-page file will be dedicated to the Secretary of State in the next edition of Playboy, Thursday April 6. The charming magazine, which arrived in France in the 1970s, overhauled its editorial line in 2016 by wanting to be more refined. According to Marlène Schiappa’s office, contacted by Le Parisien, she gave a long interview “focusing mainly on women’s freedom, but also feminism, politics and literature”, addressing in particular the themes of violence against women, and also the climate crisis. RTL indicates for its part that the Secretary of State also addressed in this interview the threatened freedom of women in Afghanistan, abortion and the rights of LGBT people on the international scene. According to information from Paris Match, Marlène Schiappa would compare herself in this interview to Pamela Anderson, believing that accepting to appear in a media like Playboy is an act of emancipation.
The magazine also revealed part of the cover photo. We see the former Secretary of State for Equality between Women and Men posing alone, looking away, in a white dress and with big earrings. The title of the magazine is in the colors of the French flag for the occasion. For its part, BFMTV has unveiled other shots of Marlène Schiappa to appear in the next edition of Playboy.
The future appearance of Marlène Schiappa in Playboy is surprising. But this is not the first time that the Secretary of State has been talked about for her choices. A member of the Philippe and Castex governments, the former deputy mayor of Le Mans was omnipresent in the media and often found herself on the set of several C8 shows hosted by Cyril Hanouna. This did not fail to give rise to strong criticism at the time. Discreet since her return to government, Marlène Schiappa is also frequently criticized for having published no less than 30 books, including 14 during her duties as mayor of Le Mans and 12 since she has held a ministerial position.
A magazine that was born in the United States, Playboy landed in France in 1973. At the time, French actresses such as Jane Birkin or Romy Schneider posed there. Sales continued in the 1980s, before falling during the 1990s, and the French edition approached what appeared across the Atlantic. The magazine struggled and ceased publication in January 2011. Five years later, a new edition went on sale. Since December 2016, Playboy is now quarterly, with a new line “without frontal nudity”, as David Swaelens-Kane, one of the publication’s buyers, told Le Point at the time. The last issue appeared in January 2023.
“Playboy is no longer a buttocks newspaper as before, but an intellectual and trendy quarterly mook (half-book, half-magazine) of almost 300 pages”, declared this Saturday, April 1, Jean-Christophe Florentin, publisher of Playboy, admitting all the same that there are “still a few undressed girls”. Marlène Schiappa “has understood that Playboy is no longer a publication for old machos, but could on the contrary be an instrument of the feminist cause”, he continued. Comments reported by BFMTV.
