Who is the person who can still block the passage, in the aisles of the Agricultural Show, hidden behind this swarm of cameras? “There are more people than for Holland », notes a teenager, among the onlookers who have come to taste the regional products of Hauts-de-France, curious to know who it is. Maybe it’s Marine Le Pen, she says, while the latter, like Laurent Wauquiez or Fabien Roussel, is expected this Wednesday morning, February 28 at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center, in Paris. “It’s Miss France!” »she is surprised, recognizing Eve Gilles from behind, thanks to her boyish cut and her slim silhouette.
She is accompanied by the president of the Hauts-de-France region, Xavier Bertrand, whom the teenager did not see. “I know you only have eyes for me and the elected officials”, the elected LR quips a little later, aware of his lack of notoriety in the face of this popular personality. Crowned under the colors of Miss Nord-Pas-de-Calais, during the competition broadcast live on TF1 on December 16, 2023, Eve Gilles, 20, took on her role as regional ambassador that day. Her bust girded by her famous scarf, dressed in red pants, a black turtleneck and blazer, and sock boots that raise her beyond her six foot height, the young woman quickly advances from her stand on stand, alongside the president of the region.
Maroilles ice cream, cold meats, sweets… It’s barely 11 o’clock, and here she is already politely playing the game of “taste everything”, like all the politicians who wander around here. The Dunkirk native is having fun on her own “chauvinism”repeating how much she loves maroilles above all. Comfortable in the exercise, although less talkative than Mr. Bertrand, she keeps her eye on the cameras, and displays a permanent affable smile. Would she ultimately be a chosen one like the others?
With her cockade scarf, the one who was also chosen by the vote of the French, sees her passage through the salon take on the air of a plebiscite that would make more than one person jealous. Exhibitors and visitors, often surprised to come across her here, are delighted to take selfies with “the new Miss France”. Quite a symbol. The same goes for the local elected officials present at the inauguration of the region’s stand, or even the Minister for Agriculture, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, who came to greet her. A few indifferent people move on.
Popular and apolitical figure
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