The first ever Miss Black France pageant crowned Mbathio Beye, 21, of Senegal, as their queen. The event took place on Saturday night in Paris, and continues to stir up controversy from those who feel an all-black pageant isn’t “progressive.” The Huffington Post reports on the story:

France has a new queen—beauty queen that is. Mbathio Beye has been crowned the first “Miss Black France”

But there was a lot of hoopla surrounding the pageant, so we’re surprised it even took place.

According to the pageant’s organizer Frédéric Royer, the goal of the event was to “celebrate black beauty,” and “to shine a light on the many Black women in this country who are rarely given any media attention.”

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