The Changing Face of France

Interesting, in terms of what it says about demographics changes in France:

Since the French Revolution, she has been the idealized embodiment of freedom, a supposedly immortal figure that nevertheless gets a new look every once in a while.

"Marianne" has been modeled on actresses like the sultry Brigitte Bardot and the coolly beautiful Catherine Deneuve, and on supermodels like Inès de la Fressange and Laetitia Casta, the current incarnation.

In 1830, Eugène Delacroix painted her bare-breasted, a rifle in one hand, the French flag in the other, as she led a crowd on the barricades.

But the face of France is changing. This month, 13 women, eight of them North African Muslim and African immigrants or the children of immigrants, were chosen to reflect the country's ideal face, or faces.

And is this a classy title, or what?

Making Marianne ethnic, working class and real is a project of Ni Putes Ni Soumises (Neither Whores nor Doormats), a movement evolving from a 1989 national federation dedicated to addressing the problems of the underclass women of the tough, immigrant suburbs.

Perhaps it loses something in the translation :)

Source: Back to Barricades: Liberty, Equality, Sisterhood