Marlene Schiappa, a French government minister who has served since 2017, is facing significant criticism from members of her own party after appearing on the cover of Playboy magazine. The minister, who currently serves as the Minister for the Social Economy and French Associations, appeared in a white dress for the cover to accompany a 12-page interview focused on women’s and LGBT rights.
Schiappa has a long history of advocacy for women's rights and previously served as the country’s first Gender Equality Minister starting in 2017. During her tenure in that role, she spearheaded a sexual harassment law that enabled authorities to issue on-the-spot fines to men who harass, catcall, or follow women in public spaces.
The magazine appearance has drawn direct criticism from political peers, including French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. According to reports citing a source close to the Prime Minister, Borne informed Schiappa that the cover “wasn’t appropriate, especially during this period.” France is currently navigating a period of social and political unrest, largely driven by President Emmanuel Macron’s push for controversial pension reforms despite widespread public opposition.
Sandrine Rousseau, a Green Party politician and fellow activist, expressed concern regarding the timing of the interview. “We are in the middle of a social crisis, there is the issue of policing, there are people between life and death, and I have the impression of being behind a smoke screen,” she stated. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who placed third in the 2022 presidential elections, also criticized both Schiappa’s choice and a separate interview President Macron gave to the children’s magazine Pif Gadget. “In a country where the President expresses himself in Pif and his minister in Playboy, the problem would be the opposition. France is going off the rails,” Mélenchon tweeted.
In response to the backlash, Schiappa took to Twitter on Saturday to defend her actions. “Defending the right of women to have control of their bodies, that’s everywhere and all the time. In France, women are free. With all due respect to the detractors and hypocrites,” she wrote.
Not all political figures condemned the move. French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin defended Schiappa in a Sunday interview on CNews, describing her as a “woman of character.” He noted, “I wanted to say that Marlene Schiappa is a courageous female politician who has her character and who has her style which is not mine, but I respect.”
