A French government minister is facing backlash for her appearance on the front cover of Playboy, even from the prime minister herself.
Marlene Schiappa, the Minister for the Social Economy and French Associations, is known for her advocacy for women's rights. As the former and first ever Gender Equality Minister, she introduced the 2018 revolutionary law — named after herself —against street harassment, where men who catcall or verbally harass women in any wayare given on-the-spot fines.
Now, after posing for the latest French playboy cover, in which she was interviewed for on her role in fighting for women's and LGBT+ rights, she has been criticised by other French politicians including Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne.
Minister Borne believed Schiappa's decision "wasn’t appropriate, especially during this period", BFMTV reports, speaking to someone who is close with the prime minister. The timing was a reference to the upheaval France faces as a result of the widely-protested law to increase the pension age, under French President Emmanuel Macron.
French politician Jean Luc Mélenchon also attacked Schiappa's actions, dramatically saying that "France is going off the rails". "In a country where the President speaks in Pif (French children's publication) and his minister Schiappa in Playboy the problem would be the opposition," he tweeted.
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