French Minister Marlene Schiappa, appeared on the cover page of the adult magazine ‘Playboy’, triggering a row among politicians and other lawmakers
Playboy, which is known for its adult content, featured a 12–page long interview of Marlene Schiappa where she talked about abortion, women's rights, and LGBT rights
Various political leaders including French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne have criticised Marlene Schiappa’s Playboy shoot where she is seen wearing a white dress
Politician Jean Luc Mélenchon wrote in a tweet, “In a country where the President expresses himself in Pif and his minister in Playboy, the problem would be the opposition. France is going off the rails.”
“Defending the right of women to dispose of their bodies is everywhere and all the time. In France, women are free. With all due respect to the backsliders and the hypocrites,” Marlene Schiappa tweeted
Playboy defended the spread which will appear in its French-language edition and said it is not a 'soft porn magazine'
Schiappa was the "most 'Playboy compatible'" of government ministers "because she is attached to the rights of women and she has understood that it's not a magazine for old machos but could be an instrument for the feminist cause," editor Jean-Christophe Florentin told AFP
A long-time advocate of women's rights, Schiappa has campaigned for gender equality and spearheaded a French law banning cat-calling, following and the harassment of women on the street
Social media users have given mixed reactions to Schiappa’s Playboy interview while some supported her for speaking about women's rights, others criticised her for giving an interview to an adult magazine