Miss France crowned Miss Universe
MANILA: Miss France was crowed Miss Universe on Monday in a made-for-television spectacle free of last year’s dramatic mixup but with a dash of political controversy as the finalists spoke out on the refugee crisis and other hotbutton global issues.
Iris Mittenaere, a dental surgery student from Lille in the north of France, beat 85 of the world’s most beautiful women at the event in the Philippines scheduled for p r i me t i me viewing in the United States.
Mittenaere, 24, edged out Miss Haiti, the first runner-up, and Miss Colombia the second runner-up. In the final question round, Miss France highlighted the benefits of open borders when asked about the global refugee crisis. “In France want to the most w e have globalisation that we can. We want to have the biggest exchange of people that we can. Maybe someday that will change but now we have open borders,” Mittenaere said. “Having open borders allows us to travel more through the world and to find out more about what’s out there in the world.” Miss Kenya, another finalist, said Donald Trump’s presidency “may not have been the choice of many people” and divided the United States. She also spoke out in support of former US president Barack Obama and said she backed Hillary Clinton to be America’s first woman president. “I feel once he took up his position, he was able to unify the entire nation,” said Mary Esther Were, 27. — AFP