This silly ‘short hair’ row tells us much more about my country than any Miss France contestant | Agnès Poirier

The fuss over Eve Gilles' gamine coiffure is bizarre in a nation that is supposed to celebrate femininity in all its forms

In December, Britain has pantomimes and France has silly beauty controversies. The latest one, which erupted on social networks last weekend, must be one of the most bizarre witnessed since the beginning of the Miss France pageant, 103 years ago.

Twenty-year-old Eve Gilles, the former Miss Pas-de-Calais, was crowned Miss France last Saturday. But it wasn't just her win that dominated headlines but her short hair. Choquant, non? Critics vented their fury online that a lithe, androgynous-looking woman could take the crown as, ostensibly, France's most beautiful woman. Some denounced it as an example of diversity gone too far. Some talked about the victory of wokery. Pardon?

Agnes Poirier is a political commentator, writer and critic