And Miss France 2024 is… This Saturday, December 16, during a spectacular ceremony organized at the Zénith in Dijon and broadcast live on TF1, one of the thirty regional Misses will win the coveted title and will succeed Indira Ampiot. A new coronation which will bring back many memories to Amandine Petit. On December 19, 2020, Miss Normandy received the prestigious crown from the hands of her predecessor, Clémence Botino. For Gala.frthe young woman agreed to look back on this evening which turned her life upside down.
Gala.fr: How did you end up in the Miss France competition?
Amandine Petit: It all started in 2015 when I met Malika Ménard, Miss France 2010. It was actually my dad who pushed me a little to take a photo with her. If I had followed my intuition, I would have walked past her and that’s it. During our exchange, Malika told me that I had to register for a modeling competition and then Miss Normandie. At the time, I didn’t do it because I don’t have any confidence in myself. So it was Malika Ménard who registered me directly. Two days later, I am at high school, and I receive a phone call from the Miss Normandie Committee. They asked me if I wanted to continue the adventure. The opportunity was so good and I finished first runner-up. So you don’t get everything right the first time. I think it’s a beautiful message of hope. Because, five years later, I decided to run again. Every year, everyone kept telling me about it. So, at the end of my Master 2, I did it spontaneously. But frankly, if I had never crossed paths with Malika Ménard, I would never have done it!
Gala.fr: How did your loved ones react to this participation?
Amandine Petit : The first time, my parents were extremely happy and very proud. Basically, it wasn’t a dream for me to do Miss France. It was more to show my family that I could be less shy and that I wasn’t just this little girl who never dares to say anything and who gets stepped on by her peers. It must be said that I was very, very shy. Although they were in awe of me doing a project for myself, my parents were a little scared. It’s normal, it’s an adventure that still takes a lot of time and it’s the unknown.
Gala.fr: What state of mind were you in on the evening of Miss France?
Amandine Petit : It was very special. When I was elected, we were in the middle of the Covid year and there was no public. So I felt like I was at rehearsals. I didn’t feel like I was on Miss France’s prime, and at the same time, I didn’t realize that behind this little red button there were 8 million viewers. I was calm and not as stressed as I had imagined. I just wanted to enjoy the moment because I knew it would only be once in my life. I only had a peak of stress when it came to the five finalists. I didn’t understand what was happening. But otherwise, I was much more stressed two days before, at the time of the big oral.
Gala.fr: Have you understood Jean-Pierre Foucault’s famous question?
Amandine Petit : Oh yes, of course ! I was very scared because it’s a social issue. People think we know it in advance but I can assure you that is not the case. We just know that it will be a question about geopolitics, the economy, problems in the world, it’s very, very broad. It was Sophie Thalmann who asked me the question. I found it so beautiful because when I was little, I went to see her husband who was a joker at the Deauville-Clairefontaine racecourse. Since he is from the region, I always bet on his horse. So, I really found it incredible that she asked me the question.
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Gala.fr: What is your worst/best memory of election night?
Amandine Petit : My worst memory is the moment of the top 15. I am called, I go backstage to change and I realize that the Miss Nord-Pas-de-Calais, who is still my best friend in adventures, does not is not part of the top 15. I then ask to find it. And there, I am told that the 15 finalists are separated from the other candidates. It was the worst moment. As I couldn’t see her, a tear escaped me. I just wanted to comfort her and tell her that I was going to fight for both of us. As for my best memory, it is obviously the moment when I was told that I was becoming Miss France. I didn’t believe it because, whether it was the top 15 or the five finalists, I was always called last. I kept telling myself that it was over for me. This moment is so unexpected!
Gala.fr: What was your first thought when you were elected?
Amandine Petit : (she laughs) A split second before being elected Miss France, I asked myself what I was doing here. Lots of questions raced through my head: ‘What does it mean to be Miss France? What are you going to do ? What are you waiting for?” In fact, I was totally lost. And then, when I hear that I’m Miss France, it’s nothingness! The world collapsed, I lost my footing. I no longer understand what is happening. My feet hurt so much but I can’t feel them anymore. Everything is meaningless, it’s impressive. I remember my friend Miss Nord-Pas-de-Calais came and jumped into my arms. The first words I heard at Jean-Pierre Foucault’s microphone were: ‘If my teachers saw me now, they wouldn’t believe their eyes!’ So, anything is possible. When I listen to this sentence again, I say to myself: ‘But what possessed you to say that?’ (she laughs). And at the same time, I am very proud of it.
Gala.fr: If you had the chance to change something, what would you do?
Amandine Petit : I wouldn’t change anything at all! Maybe I would try to be a better dancer to try to have more fun during the choreographies (she laughs). Honestly, I was very, very bad at it. Thanks to the dancers who were there to accompany me during the show. Without them, I could have made a massacre of the Miss France prime because I don’t know how to dance. So anything is possible, a year later, I was on the floor of Dancing with the Stars (she laughs). It’s incredible !
Gala.fr: How did your coronation at Miss France turn your life upside down?
Amandine Petit : My coronation turned my life upside down because overnight my name was known. My life has become public. And above all, I was able to touch with my fingertip everything that seemed impossible to me. The day after Miss France, I found myself in an extraordinary suite at the Palais Royal Monceau with people who looked at me with immense respect. While I didn’t understand what was happening. I was often very moved by all the attention I was given because I don’t come from this world. Perhaps this is what allowed me to always dream of the life I lived and especially of the life I continue to live. With the meetings, access to extraordinary places, crazy experiences and relationships with the media, Miss France changes a life. I pushed doors that I could never have pushed. It has nothing to do with what I did before. But at the same time, it trained me well and I emerged mentally ten years older. On the other hand, the personality we have should not change. I made it a point not to change my values, my attitudes and my relationships with the people who have always surrounded me. When I’m at home, I’m not Miss France, I’m Amandine Petit.
Photo credits: BESTIMAGE / Montage Gala.fr