Marlene Schiappa: French minister under fire for appearing on the front cover of Playboy magazine

(CNN) French government minister Marilyn Schiappa She was criticized by members of her party after appearing on the front cover of the Playboy magazine.

Schiappa, who has been a government minister since 2017, appeared on the cover of the magazine to accompany a 12-page interview she gave about women’s and LGBT rights. Schiappa, current Minister of Social Economy and French Associations, is pictured for the cover wearing a white dress.

Schiappa has been a longtime advocate for women’s rights and was appointed the country’s first female minister for gender equality in 2017. In that position, she successfully spearheaded a new sexual harassment law that allows for on-the-spot fines for men who come into contact with, harass, or stalks women on the street.

Her appearance drew criticism from fellow politicians, including French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne.

CNN affiliate BFMTV reported Saturday, citing a source close to the prime minister, that Bourne pulled Schiappa from the cover, telling her “it wasn’t appropriate, especially during this time.”

France currently In the midst of a political and social crisis From French President Emmanuel MacronA move to advance controversial pension reforms despite widespread public opposition.

“We are in the midst of a social crisis, there is the police issue, there are people between life and death, and I get the impression that I am behind a smokescreen,” Sandrine Russo, Green Party politician and fellow women’s rights activist. , in an interview with BFMTV on Friday.

French politician Jean-Luc Melenchon, who came third in the 2022 presidential election, criticized Schiappa’s appearance and French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to give an interview to children’s magazine Pif Gadget this week.

“In a country where the president expresses himself in Biff and his minister in Playboy, the problem will be the opposition. France is going off the rails,” Melenchon wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

Schiappa responded to her critics in a tweet on Saturday, saying: “Defending the right of women to control their bodies everywhere and all the time. In France women are free. With all due respect to critics and hypocrites.” “

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin came to Schiappa’s defense during an interview with France’s CNews on Sunday, calling her “a woman of character.”

“I wanted to say that Marilyn Schiappa is a brave politician who has her own personality and style that does not suit me, but that I respect,” he said.