Miss France 2008: Vive St Pierre

Valérie Bègue, born September 26 1985, in St Pierre, was elected Miss France in 2007. The pageant was held in Dunkerque, in northern France. She represents the Réunion island, an overseas department (Département d'Outre-Mer) of France located in the Indian Ocean. Valérie is the first Miss France from the Réunion island since Monique Uldaric, elected in 1976.
Two weeks after she was crowned Miss France, pictures of Valérie Bègue taken before her election, fully clothed but in suggestive poses on rather tame pictures, were released by French tabloid "Entrevue". The President of the Miss France contest, Geneviève de Fontenay, went on French radio to insist that Valérie Bègue should stand down and return her crown, or that she would be forcibly disqualified. De Fontenay told reporters that if Endemol, the production company that owns the Miss France contest, disagreed with her decision, she would stand down as president. De Fontenay already obtained the temporary suspension of Miss France 2004, Lætitia Bléger, for much more suggestive pictures published in the French edition of Playboy magazine, as a Miss France is contractually obligated not to pose for controversial pictures for five years following her election. A candidate to the Miss France contest also must state that she has never posed for nude or partially nude pictures beforehand, so Valérie Bègue did make a false statement.
Valérie Bègue took some time to reflect on the decision, and finally decided that she would not stand down willingly, mentioning that the set of pictures were test shots and that she didn't authorise the pictures to be published.
According to a Swedish newspaper, De Fontenay was accused of racism and of not wanting a non-French Miss France after she said that Bègue would better stay in Réunion.
On December 28 2007, Geneviève de Fontenay announced that Valérie would be allowed to remain Miss France 2008, as long as she didn't participate in any international contests. De Fontenay based her decision on the fact that the general public, who helped elect Miss France, had no idea these pictures existed, and yet, barred her from international competition, arguing that she doesn't want these pictures to give a false image of France.
Her first runner-up was Vahinerii Requillart, representing the island of New Caledonia, another overseas department of France, which is located in the Pacific Ocean. As a result, the top two finalists of the 2008 Miss France pageant originated from overseas departments of France.
Valérie is involved in programmes against breast cancer and genetic diseases.