The election of Miss France 2021 is held on Saturday evening at Puy-du-Fou, live on TF1.
But this year, the beauty pageant was largely disrupted by the coronavirus and will take place under drastic sanitary conditions.
Here are five things to know about an election like no other.
In full curfew because of Covid, the election of Miss France 2021 will be held on Saturday behind closed doors and without an audience in Puy-du-Fou.
The preparation for the famous beauty contest has been largely disrupted this year due to the coronavirus.
The idea of postponing the election to January 2021 had even been mentioned for a time.
Finally, this meeting watched each year by millions of viewers on TF1 could indeed take place.
Here are five things to know about an election like no other.
Only 400 people present
Live on TF1 (at 9:05 p.m.) and under drastic sanitary conditions, 29 candidates aged 18 to 24 are in the running to succeed Miss France 2020, Clémence Botino, Miss Guadeloupe 2019. For the 26th time, Jean-Pierre Foucault, 73 years old , will host the ceremony.
The ceremony will take place with only 400 people, candidates, technicians and employees of Puy-du-Fou previously tested negative for the coronavirus.
"But the show will be assured despite everything," promise the organizers.
At the end of the election and to respect the curfew, all the participants, including the new beauty queen, will be accommodated in the hotels of Puy-du-Fou, transformed into a sanitary bubble.
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A preparation upset by the coronavirus
The preparation for this national election, in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, required many adaptations from the organization Miss France.
"The departmental elections were made via digital candidacies, then the regional elections took many forms: open air, in camera, SMS voting ...", lists Sylvie Tellier.
But it was once the regional Misses were elected that the organization took its most impressive form.
In order to avoid contamination and to guarantee the participation of each regional Miss, the organization has set up an "anti-Covid-19 bubble" around the participants.
"The young women have been tested, isolated together, and all the people of the organization Miss France are tested to create this bubble and protect our election", adds the director of the organization Miss France.
A 100% Miss France jury
If all these health precautions are taken, it is also because this year's election marks an important date: the centenary of beauty contests in France.
"In an exceptional year, we wanted an exceptional jury", announces Sylvie Tellier.
"So a 100% Miss France jury."
This is a first for the competition, which had already had a 100% female jury, but never composed only of former Miss.
"Usually there are 7 members of the jury, this year they will be 9, all former Miss, with the president of the jury Iris Mittenaere, our Miss Universe", adds Sylvie Tellier.
"As they are extremely legitimate, they will vote until the end to elect Miss France 2021 with the public."
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A centenary to celebrate ... without Geneviève de Fontenay
This ceremony will celebrate the centenary not of Miss France, but of the arrival of beauty contests in France.
At the end of 1920, the first competition "The most beautiful woman in France" took place, which would become Miss France in 1928. Sylvie Tellier announced to celebrate this anniversary a flood of former Misses.
"30 former Miss France will be there on stage, they will open the ceremony", she reveals.
A centenary that will be without Geneviève de Fontenay, who decided to boycott the ceremony.
"I will not be present! I will not change my mind! It's a false centenary! I am shocked. It was in 1927 that the first Miss France contest took place at the time of Miss Universe. A centenary is a hundred years! I cannot celebrate something that I do not recognize. It would be false-token ... I do not need that to exist ", told AFP Geneviève de Fontenay, 88, in a new diatribe against the current organizers.
"We tried everything. Misses called her to convince her to participate in this centenary. It's a shame ... We will pay tribute to her anyway in the show", replied Sylvie Tellier, who was Miss France 2002.
A ceremony criticized by feminist associations but still popular
For many feminist associations, the centenary will not change anything: this competition is more than ever an anachronism, referring women only to their physical aspect.
"100 years of sexism, that's enough. How can we still reduce women to their appearance in 2020?", Was indignant to AFP Fabienne El-Khouri, one of the spokespersons of Dare feminism .
"The popular success of this election motivates us to continue the fight".
According to Rémi Faure, director of TF1 flow programs, the last Miss France election brought together 7 million viewers with a peak of 8.3 million, at the time of the coronation.