Miss France Valerie Begue Was Asked To Hand Back Her Crown

Valerie Begue has been told she should immediately take off her Miss France crown because of suggestive pictures published by a French magazine. Valerie Begue, who comes from the French-run, Indian Ocean island of Reunion, was elected Miss France 2008 on prime time television earlier this month. She has ruled out standing down, saying the pictures were published without her consent.

Ms Begue - who became Miss France less than a fortnight ago - refused to resign, saying she had been betrayed. She had returned on Thursday to an enthusiastic welcome on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion.

Before the competition, contestants guarantee that they have never been photographed in compromising positions. One of the pictures shows her licking yoghurt provocatively, while another has her floating on a wooden cross in a swimming pool.

The President of the Miss France contest, Genevieve de Fontenay, went on French radio to insist that Valerie Begue would have to stand down. If she did not, Ms de Fontenay said she would be stripped of her crown.

Valerie Begue Video