The headquarters of the Miss France Committee, still chaired by Geneviève de Fontenay, was burgled in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, in Saint-Cloud (Hauts-de-Seine). Some 40 dresses worn during national elections were stolen, said the lady in the hat.
"Part of my life has gone away. I am very sad. It's amazing to steal such bulky dresses . " Geneviève de Fontenay, 86, who still chairs the Miss France Committee, is saddened: the seat of the Committee was burgled in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, in Saint-Cloud (Hauts-de-Seine). And 40 dresses were stolen.
"These dresses, mostly bridal outfits, were worn during the Miss France elections. There were forty of them. I kept them preciously at the headquarters of the Miss France committee, in the same building as my apartment. In particular, there was the election dress of Sonia Rolland (70th Miss France elected in 2000), " added Geneviève de Fontenay.
"A blow to the heart"
"This robbery is a blow to the heart. This is an essential part of the Miss France contest story that has gone off, " said Ms. de Fontenay.
Nicknamed "the lady in the hat" , Geneviève de Fontenay ruled the competition until 2002.
She had met in 1952 the president of the organization Miss France, Louis Poirot, said Fontenay, she married, and had taken sole direction of the committee Miss France in 1981, after the death of the latter.
In 2002, the audiovisual production group Endemol, the European giant of reality TV, took control of the company, the Miss France brand and the contest, broadcast exclusively on TF1 .
The Miss France Historical Committee remained in the hands of Geneviève de Fontenay.