Miss France beauty pageant sued for selecting contestants based on their appearance

Three Miss France contestants who failed to make the grade have joined a leading feminist group in suing the beauty pageant for alleged discrimination based on their appearance.

Osez-le-Féminisme (Dare to be Feminist) said it had filed a complaint with the state labour tribunal on behalf of the former contestants, saying they had given up getting their arguments across any other way.

In particular, the plaintiffs argue that the organisers - Miss France company and Endemol Production - are breaching French labour law by forcing aspiring beauty queens to be more than 1.70 metres tall, single, and "representative of beauty”.

They are under obligation not to gain weight or change hairstyle and are not allowed to have tattoos or piercings other than in their ears. Candidates must also never have been married or had children.

Several previous candidates have been eliminated for doing anything “contrary to good morals, to public order or the spirit of the contest, which is based on the values of elegance”.

The three plaintiffs, who have not been named, were excluded from recent contests for smoking in public, being too short and having posed for nude pictures.

Despite decades of complaints that Miss France - which turned 100 last year - is a sexist leftover of a bygone era that reinforces gender stereotypes, it remains incredibly popular among the French and draws audiences of millions for the final national vote on top TV channel TF1 in December.

Despite organisers’ insistence it has moved with the times by giving marks for general knowledge as well as personality, contestants continue to parade in swimsuits and ballgowns.

Last year, France's Higher Council of Gender Equality, HCE, took aim at the contest, along with a string of reality TV shows, saying they reinforced cliches of "dominating Don Juans" and "bimbo temptresses”.

“For all our protests every year against this vehicle for sexist values, nothing changes,” said Alyssa Ahrabare, head of Dare to be Feminist. “We have decided to use the law to advance the cause of women.”

The case is likely to hinge on whether judges recognise Miss France contestants as de facto employees of the organisers and TV company.

While contestants do not sign an employment contract, a 2013 ruling along similar lines regarding a Mister France contestant appears to support the claim that organisers can still be sued for discrimination regarding "morals, age, family status or physical appearance”.

There was no immediate response from Miss France or Endemol but Sylvie Tellier, the 2002 Miss France who runs the organisation, recently insisted the contest promoted rather than trashed women’s rights.

She said: “You can parade in a swimsuit and be a feminist. We are no longer in the days of ‘look beautiful and shut up'.”