MB Civic

French presidential hopeful voted one of sexiest women
By Henry Samuel in Paris
(Filed: 12/06/2006)

 

Ségolène Royal, the French Left’s main presidential candidate, has been elected the world’s sixth sexiest woman, beating scores of international sex symbols including Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Hurley and Penelope Cruz.

The surprise victory in a survey on the “100 sexiest women in the world, 2006” for the French edition of the men’s monthly magazine FHM, is being hailed as a boost to Miss Royal’s chances of winning the French presidential elections next year.

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	Miss Royal: vote winner

The 52-year-old mother of four left Penelope Cruz (15th), Jennifer Lopez (34th), Liz Hurley (41st) and Italian film star Monica Bellucci (91st) trailing, and was only two places behind the American actress Angelina Jolie.

Top of the poll was Adriana Karembeu, the French-Slovak supermodel and wife of former international French footballer, Christian Karembeu.

Miss Royal, the partner of, François Hollande, the Socialist party leader, has taken the French political world by storm since the beginning of the year, going from a relative unknown to the current favourite in next year’s presidential elections, even garnering more support than Nicolas Sarkozy, the Right’s front-runner. She can now claim to be the first politician to have featured on FHM’s annual list.

Scarlett Johanssen topped the US version of the poll, with Angelina Jolie placed second. The British list was published in March. Keira Knightley came top.

Part of Royal’s success, suggested Le Parisien, which leaked details of the poll, conducted by the CSA polling institute, is down to a Hillary Clinton-style overhaul she has undergone in recent years, going from bespectacled academic to glossy-haired presidential contender.

Last year she had an upper tooth straightened, prompting the newspaper Libération to jest: “The French people’s favourite Socialist is now endowed with an American smile.”

“She plays on her beauty,” Georges Chetochine, a sociologist told the paper. “She wears light clothes – never dark. Her well studied make-up is pale as well, in order to light up her face. She wears dresses not trousers and has a young hairstyle: how would you know she was over 50?” She has also worked on her voice, scrapping a high, aggressive timbre for sultry, lower tones.

Miss Royal, the president of the Poitou-Charent region, will no doubt value her ranking more than Jacques Chirac, who was recently awarded FHM’s “Most Corrupt Man in the West” prize.

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I wouldn’t mind voting for her…

AL B