Miss France 2021 was the 91st edition of the

Miss France Miss (pronounced ) is an English language honorific typically used for a girl, for an unmarried woman (when not using another title such as "Doctor" or "Dame"), or for a married woman retaining her maiden name. Originating in the 17th century, it ...

pageant. The competition was held on 19 December 2020 at

Puy du Fou Puy du Fou () is a historical theme park in Les Epesses in the Pays de la Loire region of western France. It receives more than 2 million visitors every year, making it one of the most popular theme parks in France. In 2019 and 2020, it is the fo ...

Les Epesses Les Epesses () is a Communes of France, commune in the Vendée Departments of France, department in the Pays de la Loire Regions of France, region in western France. It is best known for the Puy du Fou historical theme park. Geography The muni ...

Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire (; ; br, Broioù al Liger) is one of the 18 regions of France, in the west of the mainland. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital, Nantes, one of a handful of "balancing metropolises" (). ...

Clémence Botino Clémence Botino (born 22 January 1997) is a French beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss France 2020. She represented France at Miss Universe 2021, where she placed in the top ten. Early life and education Passionate about fashion, ...

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

crowned

Amandine Petit Amandine Petit (; born 30 September 1997) is a French model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss France 2021. She had previously been crowned Miss Normandy 2020, and is the seventh woman from Normandy to win Miss France. She repre ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

as her successor at the end of the event. Petit represented France at

Miss Universe 2020 Miss Universe 2020 was the 69th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, United States on May 16, 2021. At the end of the event, Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa crowned Andrea Meza of Mexico a ...

. Despite only being the 91st edition, the 2021 edition was celebrated as the centenary of Miss France, as the competition was first held in 1920, before being paused from 1922 to 1926 and 1941–46, the latter due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. This was the second time that Miss France was held at Puy du Fou and in the

region after

Miss France 2009 Miss France 2009, the 62nd edition of the Miss France pageant, was held in Puy du Fou, Pays de la Loire on December 6, 2008. It was the first time that the pageant took place in Puy du Fou and the Pays de la Loire region. The ceremony was held ...

Background

Location

On 2 September 2020, it was confirmed by the Miss France Committee that Miss France 2021 would be held on 12 December 2020 at

. This would be the second time the competition has been held at Puy du Fou, following

. The competition was later postponed to 19 December after

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...

announced a nationwide lockdown in France for the month of November due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. While the Miss France contestants typically embark on an overseas trip during preparation for the competition, their planned trip to

was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and they instead traveled to

Versailles, Yvelines Versailles () is a commune in the department of the Yvelines, Île-de-France, renowned worldwide for the Château de Versailles and the gardens of Versailles, designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Located in the western suburbs of the French ...

to visit the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 19 ...

Selection of contestants

Due to the

, the region of

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

decided to cancel their regional pageant for Miss France 2021. The 2021 edition saw the return of

Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands (; french: Wallis-et-Futuna or ', Fakauvea and Fakafutuna: '), is a French island collectivity in the South Pacific, situated between Tuvalu to the northwest, Fiji ...

to Miss France; the region had only competed four times in history, and not since 2005. On 14 October, it was confirmed that Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy would not compete after their selected candidate Naïma Dessout was disqualified by the Miss France Committee for having previously participated in a nude photoshoot. Additionally, no representative was selected to replace Dessout at Miss France. This came after Anastasia Salvi, the original winner of Miss Franche-Comté, resigned amidst a nude photo scandal, and Anaëlle Guimbi, a competitor in

Miss Guadeloupe Miss Guadeloupe is a French beauty pageant which selects a representative for the Miss France national competition from the overseas region of Guadeloupe. The first Miss Guadeloupe was crowned in 1937, although the pageant was not held regularly un ...

, was disqualified ahead of the regional pageant for nude photos taken in support of a

breast cancer awareness Breast cancer awareness is an effort to raise awareness and reduce the stigma of breast cancer through education on symptoms and treatment. Supporters hope that greater knowledge will lead to earlier detection of breast cancer, which is associ ...

campaign.

Results

Special awards

Scoring

Preliminaries

A jury composed of partners (internal and external) of the Miss France Committee selected fifteen delegates during an interview that took place on 16 December to advance to the semifinals.

Top 15

In the top fifteen, a 50/50 split vote between the official jury and voting public selected five delegates to advance to the top five. Each delegate was awarded an overall score of 1 to 15 from the jury and public, and the five delegates with the highest combined scores advanced to the top five. The delegates with the sixth and seventh highest combined scores were afterwards designated as the fifth and sixth runners-up, respectively, despite not advancing in the competition. In the case of a tie, the jury vote prevailed.

Top five

In the top five, a 50/50 split vote between the official jury and voting public determined which contestant was declared Miss France. This was the first time the jury could vote in the top five since

Miss France 2010 Miss France 2010, the 63rd Miss France pageant, was held in Nice, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur on December 5, 2009. Malika Ménard of Normandy was crowned Miss France 2010 by the outgoing titleholder Chloé Mortaud of Albigeois Midi-Pyrénées, w ...

. Each contestant was ranked from first to fifth by the jury and public, and the two scores were combined to create a total score. In the case of a tie, the public vote prevailed. If this rule change had not occurred, Normandy still would have won, while Alsace would have been first runner-up, followed by Provence, Burgundy, and then Côte d'Azur.

Pageant

Format

While the edition was not given a titled theme like in previous years, on 4 December 2020, it was announced that the theme for the 2021 competition would revolve around French influence in the world, with competition rounds inspired by aspects of French culture and history that have received international popularity and recognition. On 15 December, it was announced that instead of the winner being decided by public voting as it had been since

, there would instead be a rule change where the winner would be decided by a 50/50 split of jury voting and public voting, much like how the top five has been chosen in past editions. The 29 contestants were initially separated into three groups, two consisting of ten contestants and one of nine, with each group taking part in an initial presentation round. The three presentation rounds were themed after the

French cuisine French cuisine () is the cooking traditions and practices from France. It has been influenced over the centuries by the many surrounding cultures of Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium, in addition to the food traditions of the re ...

, and the

Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche. In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Olympia (P ...

, respectively. Afterwards, the 29 contestants presented their regional costumes, created by local designers from their home regions. The 29 contestants subsequently participated in the one-piece swimsuit round, inspired by

French cinema French cinema consists of the film industry and its film productions, whether made within the nation of France or by French film production companies abroad. It is the oldest and largest precursor of national cinemas in Europe; with primary influ ...

. After the one-piece swimsuit round, the top fifteen were announced. The top fifteen then competed in the two-piece swimsuit round, inspired by

Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the (; "French National Celebration"); legally it is known as (; "t ...

and French landmarks such as the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "'' ...

and

Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (, , ; ) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the ''étoile'' ...

. After the two-piece swimsuit round, the top five were announced. The top five then presented their evening gowns, in a round inspired by

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

s, and then participated in the final question round. After the final question round, the top five participated in their final presentation round, inspired by

French art French art consists of the visual and plastic arts (including French architecture, woodwork, textiles, and ceramics) originating from the geographical area of France. Modern France was the main centre for the European art of the Upper Paleolit ...

, before the final results were revealed.

Judges

To celebrate the centenary of Miss France, the Miss France Committee announced that the jury would consist of only former Miss France titleholders. *

Iris Mittenaere Iris Mittenaere (; born 25 January 1993) is a French model, television host, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe 2016. She is the second Miss Universe from France after Christiane Martel, who was elected Miss Universe 1 ...

(President of the Jury) –

Miss France 2016 Miss France 2016 was the 86th Miss France pageant, held in Lille on 19 December 2015. Miss France 2015, Camille Cerf crowned her successor Iris Mittenaere at the end of the event. This was the third back-to-back in Miss France history after 1948-1 ...

and

Miss Universe 2016 Miss Universe 2016 was the 65th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Mall of Asia Arena, in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines on January 30, 2017. This is the second time in the history of the competition that the pageant skipped an entire year, ...

from

Nord-Pas-de-Calais Nord-Pas-de-Calais (); pcd, Nord-Pas-Calés); is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Nord-Pas-de-Cala ...

*Patricia Barzyk – Miss France 1980 from

Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; frp, Franche-Comtât; also german: Freigrafschaft; es, Franco Condado; all ) is a cultural and historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, ...

Flora Coquerel Flora Coquerel (born 14 April 1994) is a French model and beauty pageant titleholder. She is the 85th Miss France titleholder. She represented France at Miss Universe 2015 where she placed in the Top 5, which represents the third highest French ...

–

Miss France 2014 Miss France 2014 was the 84th Miss France pageant, held in Dijon on 13 December 2013. Miss France 2013, Marine Lorphelin of Burgundy crowned her successor Flora Coquerel of Orléanais (now Centre-Val de Loire) at the end of the event. It was t ...

from

Centre-Val de Loire Centre-Val de Loire (, , ,In isolation, ''Centre'' is pronounced . ) or Centre Region (french: région Centre, link=no, ), as it was known until 2015, is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France. It straddles the middle Loire Valley ...

*Muguette Fabris – Miss France 1963 from

Île-de-France , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 = +01:00 , timezone1_DST = CEST , utc_offset1_DST = +02:00 , blank_name_sec1 = Gross regional product , blank_info_sec1 = Ranked 1st , bla ...

Mareva Georges Mareva Georges is a French model who served as Miss Tahiti 1990 and Miss France 1991. Early life Georges father is German people, German and her mother is of Tahitian people, Tahitian/Rarotonga and American descent. She is the niece of Edna Tep ...

– Miss France 1991 from

Élodie Gossuin Élodie Gossuin (born 15 December 1980) is a French beauty pageant titleholder, model, radio and television presenter, columnist and regional politician. She was elected Miss Picardy 2000, Miss France 2001 (she is the 72nd Miss France), and Miss ...

– Miss France 2001 and Miss Europe 2001 from

Picardy Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hi ...

Linda Hardy Linda Hardy (born 11 October 1973) is a French actress and model. Life and career Hardy won the title of Miss France in 1992, and represented her country at Miss Universe 1992, Miss World 1992, and Miss Europe 1992. She then launched an acti ...

– Miss France 1992 from

Nathalie Marquay Nathalie Marquay (born 17 March 1967 in Comines, Nord) was Miss France in 1987 and her country's representative at Miss Universe 1987 and Miss World 1987 Miss World 1987, the 37th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 12 November 198 ...

– Miss France 1987 from

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

* Sonia Rolland – Miss France 2000 from

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

Contestants

The 29 delegates were:

Notes

References

External links

* {{Miss France December 2020 events in France Miss France 2020 beauty pageants Beauty pageants in France Entertainment events in France Competitions in France