The hidden side of a French institution. In his book 'Miss France, from dream to reality,' Hubert Guérin, Geneviève de Fontenay's last collaborator, makes shocking revelations about the famous beauty pageant. Through 60 testimonies from former Miss France winners, he recounts the depression, harassment, and sexual violence that have been swept under the carpet. “It's a machine for crushing candidates.”

Behind the glitz and glamour, hell. Hubert Guérin, Geneviève de Fontenay's last collaborator, with whom he worked for eleven years, will publish his book on September 8th. And this release promises to be explosive due to the heavy revelations made by the author. Always passionate about the competition, he decided to embark on writing a book to retrace the history of Miss France. But Hubert Guérin quickly discovered the event's dark hidden side.

For this book, the author interviewed 60 former Miss France contestants. Through their testimonies, he learned to what extent the competition had broken some of them. Harassment, exhaustion, depression, isolation: the stories are sometimes very harsh. “I discovered a hidden side that I didn't dare imagine. It's a machine for crushing candidates, they are shattered by the competition and sent back into society without protection,” explains the author, quoted by Le Progrès. “I arrived at Miss France alive, I came out of my dead year,” even a former beauty queen confided to him.

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“Elected Miss France, I was raped a few hours later”: the revelations that shook the crown

The hidden side of a French institution. In his book 'Miss France, from dream to reality,' Hubert Guérin, Geneviève de Fontenay's last collaborator, makes shocking revelations about the famous beauty pageant. Through 60 testimonies from former Miss France winners, he recounts the depression, harassment, and sexual violence that have been swept under the carpet. “It's a machine for crushing candidates.”

Elise Lucca

Progress

September 5, 2025, 12:15 PM

Behind the glitz and glamour, hell. Hubert Guérin, Geneviève de Fontenay's last collaborator, with whom he worked for eleven years, will publish his book on September 8th. And this release promises to be explosive due to the heavy revelations made by the author. Always passionate about the competition, he decided to embark on writing a book to retrace the history of Miss France. But Hubert Guérin quickly discovered the event's dark hidden side.

For this book, the author interviewed 60 former Miss France contestants. Through their testimonies, he learned to what extent the competition had broken some of them. Harassment, exhaustion, depression, isolation: the stories are sometimes very harsh. “I discovered a hidden side that I didn't dare imagine. It's a machine for crushing candidates, they are shattered by the competition and sent back into society without protection,” explains the author, quoted by Le Progrès. “I arrived at Miss France alive, I came out of my dead year,” even a former beauty queen confided to him.

The day after my coronation, I was forced to give oral sex

Sexual assaults

But the revelations don't stop there. Some candidates reveal that they were victims of sexual assault "during the competition, under the direction of the Miss France organization." "These are stories that repeat themselves, always the same pattern," writes Hubert Guérin, who specifies that the victims preferred to remain anonymous. "I, Miss France, was the victim of rape during my year," "Elected Miss France, I was raped a few hours later: in my room, I was pushed against the bed, called names, and my dress was torn off," "The day after my coronation, I was forced to perform fellatio," the book reads.

“He would go through all the rooms, stand between the candidates to take a photo, and put a hand on each buttock,” says another former Miss France. Several victims also report having their breasts groped during photo shoots. According to the author, several assaults took place during preparation trips abroad and up until the evening of the election, mainly between 1990 and 2002. Many local and regional candidates were also victims of abuse, he says.