French Toddlers Don't Wear Tiaras

Behind-the-scenes of Miss Mini France. Photo by Getty Images.

Children’s beauty pageants may soon come to an end in France, with the French senate voting to ban “mini-Miss” competitions for children under the age of 16.

If the new legislation is passed, anyone found entering an underage child into a beauty pageant will face up to two years in prison and a €30,000 ($43,000) fine.

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Former Sports Minister Chantal Jouanno called for the ban, claiming that pageants encourage the hyper-sexualisation of young girls. "Let us not make our girls believe from an early age that their only value is their appearance," she told the senate.

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Women’s Rights Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, who sponsored a gender equality bill, said the ban was too harsh. She agreed with tougher controls, but thought the focus should be on de-sexualising the competitions, by banning swimsuits, make-up and high heels.

The proposal was prompted by a parliamentary report into the hyper-sexualisation of children following international outrage over a French Vogue fashion shoot that showed a 10-year-old model posing in tight dresses and heavy make-up.