One of France's biggest beauty pageants has come under criticism for being "woke" after a woman with short hair won.
Eve Gilles, 20, won the crown at the final in Dijon on Saturday night (local time), which drew an audience of 5000 fans and was watched by 7.5 million on TV.
Gilles, who was representing Nord-Pas-de-Calais, became the first winner sporting a pixie cut, according to The Telegraph.
"We're used to seeing beautiful Misses with long hair, but I chose an androgynous look with short hair," Gilles said after her win.
She added that every "woman is different, we're all unique".
The contest is won through a combination of a public and jury vote. In the final, Gilles came third in the public vote but was the judge's choice.
However, the judge's decision was largely criticised on social media.
"Miss France is no longer a beauty contest but a woke contest which is based on inclusiveness," one critic said.
"The androgynous body is clearly to serve woke propaganda," said another.
Despite the global criticism, people were quick to jump to Gilles' defence.
"Maybe the new Miss France isn't gorgeous in your eyes, but seeing wokeism in her because she has short hair… It's just ridiculous," one person said.
Even politicians have backed Gilles.
"So, in France, in 2023, we measure the progress of respect for women by the length of their hair?" French Greens MP Sandrine Rousseau
"Support for Eve Gilles, elected Miss France, who is already suffering the violence of a society which does not accept that women define themselves in all their diversity," Fabien Roussel, national secretary of the communist party, said.
During the contest, Gilles commented on her look, saying beauty isn't limited to haircuts or shapes.
"I would like to show that the competition is evolving and society too, that the representation of women is diverse, in my opinion, beauty is not limited to a haircut or shapes that we have... or not," she said.
