French minister poses for Playboy, PM says not appropriate

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has reprimanded Marlene Schiappa, the secretary of state for social economy, for giving an interview to the magazine Playboy. prime minister and leftwing critics feel the minister for the social economy and associations has made a mistake with her latest stunt: posing for Playboy to accompany a 12-page interview on women's and gay rights as well as abortion. "Defending the right of women to do what they want with their bodies: everywhere and all the time," Schiappa wrote on Twitter on Saturday. "In France, women are free. Whether it annoys the retrogrades and hypocrites or not." The decision has irritated some colleagues in the government which has been battling strikes and increasingly violent demonstrations against plans to raise the retirement age by two years. Schiappa,  appeared on the cover of the magazine’s French edition, whose new issue is set to hit newsstands on Thursday. 

Invité ce matin sur Europe1 le Ministre de l’intérieur @GDarmanin apporte son soutien à @MarleneSchiappa sur sa Une Une de #playboy. Il cite Cookie Dingler : « vous ne me ferez pas dire de mal de Marlène Schiappa (…) être une femme libérée, c’est pas si facile » pic.twitter.com/pz50OoQdls

— Jeanne Baron (@jeannebarontv) April 2, 2023

Greens MP and fellow women's rights activist Sandrine Rousseau, an outspoken critic of the centrist government, said: "where is the respect for the French people?  Playboy was founded in the US in 1953 as a men’s lifestyle magazine known for nude and erotic photos of women, but also for its interviews with famous people and general articles.