Fashion Desk, Delhi Magazine: On Saturday, December 16, in Dijon (Côte-d’Or), Miss Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Eve Gilles, was crowned Miss France 2024. Hailing from Dunkirk and at the age of 20, she transformed her candidacy into a symbol of feminine “diversity.” Declaring, “No one should dictate who you are,” she asserted her individuality during the beauty contest, highlighting her short-cut hair as a point of distinction from the other contestants, all of whom had long hair.
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The newly crowned “beauty queen,” succeeding Indira Ampiot, Miss Guadeloupe, earned her title through a combination of viewer votes, accounting for half of the decision, and the judgment of a seven-woman jury for the remaining half. The selection process unfolded after an elaborate “show,” in the words of 76-year-old presenter Jean-Pierre Foucault, who has been hosting the event since 1995.
This competition follows a Tuesday conviction by the Lille court targeting the TF1 subsidiary, e-TF1, and the company Endemol, which then oversaw the Miss France Society. The conviction was related to the broadcast, to nearly eight million viewers, of images featuring two regional Miss contestants filmed bare-chested on December 15, 2018, by a camera installed without their knowledge. While organizers apologized for this incident, the hiccup adds to the controversy surrounding the beauty contest, which, despite some reforms, remains highly criticized.
Is it a symbol of success or a misogynistic selection? Now a century old, the Miss France pageant is touted as a symbol of “success” by the Miss France Society. “It serves as a social elevator,” asserts its president, Alexia Laroche-Joubert, citing examples of former contestants who have gone on to become “businesswomen, doctors, or even directors.” She emphasizes that the criteria have been “modernized,” pointing out that candidates now face no age limit and can be transgender, married, mothers, and even tattooed.
However, this “evolution” falls short of satisfying feminists. Mélinda Bizri, representing the Human Rights League in Dijon, views it as “feminist-washing”: she contends that the pageant remains entrenched in a deeply misogynistic framework. Bizri has called for a boycott of the ceremony, joined by numerous other associations. She underscores the notion that women subject themselves to a lifetime of self-abnegation to meet these fantastical criteria, adhering to patterns that take an extensive amount of time to deconstruct.
Who is Eve Gilles
Eve Gilles was born on July 9, 2003, in Dunkirk. Her father, Bruno, is a surveyor, and her mother, Édith, works alongside him, as reported by La Voix du Nord. Édith hails from Reunion. Miss France 2024 noted, “Northerners and Reunion Islanders have many things in common, such as the culture of sharing and a sun that shines in hearts, a little more here, in fact.”
The youngest of three sisters, Eve emphasizes the significance of her family, describing it as her “little cocoon.” She confides, “We are very close. We did everything together.” It was her grandfather who encouraged her to enter the competition.
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Despite currently putting her studies on hold to focus on Miss France competitions, Eve is pursuing a MIASHS degree (Mathematics and Computer Science Applied to the Human and Social Sciences) with aspirations to become a statistician. She explained, “I realized that my whole life is connected to math. Every time I want to make decisions, people say to me, ‘Ah, but maybe it’s your statistician side that makes you always think about the pros and cons, the percentage on one side, the percentage on the other.”
Initially, with her baccalaureate, Eve embarked on a path in medicine “so as not to regret it later,” but she discovered that it wasn’t to her liking. “I worked in the factory to make money and I took a license,” she adds.
Eve Gilles is also an avid sports enthusiast, having engaged in activities such as dancing, horse riding, basketball, athletics, and even table tennis.
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She boldly asserts her candidacy for Miss France as a symbol of “feminine diversity,” declaring on stage, “No one should dictate who you are.” She emphasizes her short-cut hair as a distinctive feature, challenging the conventional criteria associated with classic Miss appearances.
Eve Gilles Twitter Account: Not Available.
Eve Gills Insta Account: @evegillsoff.