French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has been criticizing government minister Marlene Schiappa for appearing on the cover of Playboy magazine. Schiappa was on the cover of France’s April issue where she was interviewed for an article discussing women’s rights.

Schiappa did not appear nude but her interview was featured on 12 pages and Borne said it was inappropriate especially during this time.

Borne was referring to the current political climate in France which is currently in upheaval because of French president Emmanuel Macron’s move to push ahead controversial reforms despite public opposition. The move was to raise the state pension from 62 to 64 with more than a million people protesting against it with fires and vandalism.

Schiappa Off The Rails

According to a CNN report, Green Party politician and fellow women’s rights activist Sandrine Rousseau said, “We are in the middle of a social crisis, there is the issue of policing, there are people between life and death, and I have the impression of being behind a smoke screen.”

French politician, Jean Luc Melenchon who was third in the presidential elections said, “In a country where the President expresses himself in Pif and his minister in Playboy, the problem would be the opposition, France is going off the rails,” tweeted Melenchon.

Schiappa defended her decision saying, “Defending the right of women to have control of their bodies, that’s everywhere and all the time. In France, women are free. With all due respect to the detractors and hypocrites.”

French interior Minister, Gerald Darmanin came to Schiappa’s defense during an interview with French news channel CNews on Sunday saying that she was “a woman of character”.

“I wanted to say that Marlene Schiappa is a courageous female politician who has her character and who has her style which is not mine, but I respect,” he said.

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NOTE: Photo above is from YouTube screen grab