Newsmakers

Miss France 2004 could be stripped of her title after posing for Playboy, organisers of the pageant have warned.

The head of the committee that runs the contest said she was "dismayed and appalled" by the half-naked photos of Laetitia Bleger in the magazine.

She said Miss France winners were barred from engaging in "licentious" behaviour for six years after winning the title.

Miss France 1983 lost hers after posing as a pin-up for Paris Match magazine.

"We're going to call an emergency meeting of the committee's board," Miss France committee president Genevieve de Fontenay told AFP news agency.

She said a winner could lose her title for improper behaviour - including "licentious photos, even if only partially revealing" - during the year of her reign and for the next five years.

"We can't let this go," Ms de Fontenay added. "Miss France winners have a status to uphold and they know it."

If stripped of her title, Ms Bleger could be forced to return the gifts she has received.

She was elected at the end of 2003 and was succeeded by the current holder, Cindy Fabre, last December.