Former Miss France Malika Ménard Misses 2024 Pageant Due to Moroccan Injury

"I had to and especially I wanted to be present tonight, in Dijon, for the prime time of Miss France. To reunite with my friends, see the destiny of a young woman tilt in a fraction of a second and honor the memory of the lady with the hat. This really mattered to me: I am the last Miss France that Geneviève de Fontenay crowned," confides in an Instagram post Miss France 2010, sharing photos of her coronation alongside the illustrious deceased. She testifies: "Being the first or the last in someone’s life, regardless of the duration or depth of the relationship, creates, without us really having the power to act on it, a special bond. This was our case. I wanted to pay tribute to her tonight (Saturday, December 16, editor’s note), because she passed away this summer, more than four months ago... the same day as my dad."

A meniscus injury prevented the young woman from paying tribute to the tutelary figure of Miss France, who died on August 1. "I was so dismayed, imprisoned in suffering, overwhelmed by new emotions and anxieties, that I was at the time quite incapable of worthily expressing my gratitude to her when I was solicited in this regard. I was therefore firmly awaiting this tribute, this communion between Miss, around the one we owe a little of what we are today. (But) I cannot physically travel. I fractured my meniscus last Sunday in Morocco. I have had some difficulty walking since then. I will therefore be present in thought," explains Miss France 2010.

On Saturday, Eve Gilles, Miss Pas-de-Calais, was crowned Miss France 2024, succeeding Indira Ampiot, elected last year in Châteauroux.