The French woman, Iris Mittenaere, 24, was crowned Miss Universe at the contest held in Manila, beating her competitors Miss Haiti and Miss Colombia, and 83 other candidates. The Miss Universe contest, created in 1952, had only seen one awarded to the French, Christiane Martel in 1953.
Born in Lille, in northern France, this student in dental surgery was elected Miss France in 2016 and formerly Miss Nord-Pas-de-Calais in 2015.
Advocacy for open borders
In the last round of questions, when six candidates were still in the running, including Iris Mittenaere has made a plea for open borders. “Having open borders can allow us to travel the world and learn a little about our neighbors” , has she declared to the facilitator who asked about the crisis of migrants in Europe.
This tall brunette was committed, if she won the beauty contest, to campaign for the promotion of oral hygiene, according to the Miss Universe website, which says she likes “extreme sports, travel and cook french dishes “.
The French, who was a favourite , beat in the final the Haitian Raquel Pelissier and Colombian Andrea Tovar. In a tweet Sylvie Tellier, CEO of the Miss France itself Miss France 2002, left his joy exploded at the end of the competition, during which products include the US group of R’n’B Boyz II Men and rapper Flo Rida.
Incroyable!!!!! Elle l’a fait!!! Tellement fière!!! #MissUniverse @IrisMittenaereO
— Sylvie Tellier (@SylvieTellier) January 30, 2017
Since 1953 and the coronation of Christiane Martel , no French woman had managed to win the competition, created in 1952 and for women from 18 to 26 years old, single and without children. They should never have been laid bare. It competes with the Miss World contest, of British origin.
In total, 86 young women were vying to succeed the Philippine Pia Wurtzbach Alonzo, who was elected in December 2015 after a huge blunder television presenter who originally crowned Miss Colombia.
