French Minister Marlene Schiappa triggers row by appearing on Playboy cover

40-year-old Marlene Schiappa has been serving as a minister in the French government since 2017.

She appeared on the cover of the magazine to accompany a 12-page interview she did on women’s and LGBT rights,CNN reported.

She is currently the  Minister for the Social Economy and French Associations.

In the cover photo of the magazine, the Minister could be seen wearing a white dress.

Schiappa has been a long-time advocate for women’s rights and was appointed as the country’s first ever Gender Equality Minister in 2017. In this role, she successfully spearheaded a new sexual harassment law which allows for on the spot fines to be issued to men who catcall, harass or follow women on the street, reports CNN.

She has earned criticisms from her party colleagues.

Borne pulled up Schiappa over the cover, telling her it “wasn’t appropriate, especially during this period,” CNN affiliate BFMTV reported Saturday, citing a source close to prime minister Elisabeth Borne.

French politician, Jean Luc Mélenchon who came third in the 2022 presidential elections criticized both Schiappa’s appearance and the decision by French President Emmanuel Macron to give an interview to children’s magazine, Pif Gadget, this week, reports CNN.

“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,” Mélenchon tweeted Saturday as quoted by the American news channel.