![]() We are treated to a firework display of brightly coloured robes, tulle, feathers, fake gems, fabric flowers and glittering hairdos. A few fathers and brothers are hanging around on the sidelines. In the auditorium the mothers have turned into dressers, and their daughters into princesses. It makes a good outing." Caroline, a housekeeper, agrees: "Here, I get to see people." The kids get gifts and we all end up at McDonald's. "With a day out at a contest we get to see friends, have a laugh and a chat. "I work nights in a drug factory," Myriam explains. They are the ones who started the whole thing, to keep up with their friends. But the dresses are home-made and the girls are pleased. "Up there it costs €5 to €6, here it's €39." Including the petrol, it is quite an outlay. "The price isn't the same," Myriam points out. "This isn't America." The girls average one contest a month, generally in the north of France where they are commonplace. "The people who did that have never been to a contest," Caroline protests. Such events allegedly encourage the "hypersexualisation" of young girls, making them attach too much importance to their appearance. ![]() Myriam and Caroline are wondering what got into the upper house of the French parliament last month when it passed an amendment banning beauty contests for under-16s.
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