Miss France has crowned its oldest champion in over a century, with 34-year-old Angélique Angarni-Filopon breaking the age limit rules. Representing Martinique, the flight attendant celebrated her win as proof that it’s “never too late” to change your life or career.
Angarni-Filopon hopes her victory will inspire others to pursue their dreams, as reported by Daily Mail. She said she was representing “Martinique, its diaspora as well as all the women who were once told that it was too late.”
The pageant, which has been running since 1920, previously stopped women over the age of 24 from entering, with a rule change in 2022 also opening it up to mothers and married women as organisers said they wanted to “change with the times.”
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Contestants must still meet strict requirements, including being at least 5ft 7in tall and pledging not to gain weight, change their hairstyle, or display tattoos or piercings during their 12-month reign.
This year, a 52-year-old woman also entered the contest but did not advance past the regional stages, according to French media reports.
Angarni-Filopon said after collecting the tiara: “People are always talking about my age. I think I am well-preserved. I have not got wrinkles.”
In 2011, at the age of 21, Angarni-Filopon finished as runner-up in the Miss Martinique competition and failed to qualify for Miss France.
She said at the weekend: “The thirties are perhaps the best age. In my twenties, I spent a lot of time trying to find out who I was. I wanted to be like everyone else.”
The pageant champion beamed in a pink and white feathered gown as she was awarded the title, and proudly said in her winner’s speech: “My short hair and my age absolutely don’t define me.”
She told Le Parisien that she had not expected to win. “At each of the regional elections, I said to myself, ‘oh, yeah they [other competitors] are very beautiful’, and I saw victory moving away.
“I told myself that this experience would be great. But it was very very far, in my head, from telling myself that I was going to win.”
The beauty queen was among 30 contestants from across France’s regions and territories who made it to the Miss France final, competing against doctors, dentists, and students.
Her prize reportedly includes up to €60,000 ($63,000) over the next year, the use of a Paris flat near the Arc de Triomphe, and various gifts from sponsors.
This comes after a controversy over the 2023 winner’s hairstyle, where Eve Gilles faced backlash and misogynistic abuse for being the first Miss France winner to sport a pixie cut.
“We’re used to seeing beautiful Misses with long hair, but I chose an androgynous look with short hair,” Gilles said at the time.
Angarni-Filopon’s win has also divided the internet. “The fact she’s black is not a problem, we had many miss France from West Indies, french Guyana or Tahiti or With direct african origins but they were truly beautiful. A 100%female jury made the choice only bc she’s the oldest girl, 34yo, bc it’s the 1st year without age limit,” one X user wrote.
“Something important to add. Miss France announced she was 34 before she was elected and got a massive round of applause for that. You Can be damn well sure all French women above 30 voted for her just to reassure themselves regarding their very own appearance,” another wrote.
“She is 34. The first Miss France over 30. “They” took away everything from young people,” a third person added.
“The fact that the new miss France is THIRTY FOUR YEARS OLD is incredible, beauty has no age and I am still younger than miss france lets celebrate,” an X user who welcomed her win wrote.
“Wow the newly crowned miss france 2025 is 34! love ittttt,” another stated.
Recent events have sparked debate about the relevance of beauty pageants in modern society. Miss Netherlands organizers announced last week that the pageant is being scrapped after 35 years.
“Times have changed and we are changing with the times,” the organisers of the pageant said in a statement.
Instead of running the competition, director Monica van Ee has set up a platform entitled “no longer of this time.”
This platform aims to share stories of successful women but also those struggling with, among other things, social media and unrealistic beauty standards.
“No more crowns, but stories that inspire. No dresses, but dreams that come to life,” organizers said.
