It is precisely midnight thirty-two when Amandine Petit's life has changed at the carrousel, a performance hall in the Puy du Fou amusement park (Vendée).
Miss Normandy, this young student in Master 1, from Bourguébus, a small village of 2,000 inhabitants near Caen, has just been crowned Miss France 2021.
A fate that she secretly cherishes from her nursery.
In Vendée lands, his name sounded, two minutes before the news was made official on Tf1, delayed broadcasting requires (as on all live broadcasts).
Obviously, facing a Miss Provence, ultra favorite, the announcement of her name made her burst into tears.
So much so that the indestructible presenter Jean-Pierre Foucault handed him a white handkerchief, like a good Marseille gentleman.
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“We dream of winning and sometimes it happens, she commented for the first time after the first cameras were cut and while her contenders congratulate her.
I was a little blundered during this bonus, I made a mistake in my steps during the show and that will not surprise the choreographer Stéphane Jarny who made us rehearse.
But it also proves that you can stay natural and still be successful.
"
"Shy, spontaneous and reserved"
“This morning when I got up, I could still hear in my head a voice announcing… Miss Normandy”, says Amandine Petit./AFP/Loïc Venance
For this year, the last five contenders in the running were decided by votes, equally between the jury and the public.
Miss Provence and Miss Normandy were tied (thanks to a weighting system).
As provided for in the regulations, it was the public's choice which then prevailed (Miss Normandy was third in the jury of eleven former beauty queens).
The one who defines herself as "shy, spontaneous and reserved" immediately knew how to immerse herself in the great media bath of the new chapter of her destiny.
And with a disconcerting aplomb, and an impeccable speech, as if she had waited for this moment all her life and that she was preparing for it with military rigor.
"This morning when I got up, I could still hear in my head a voice announcing ... Miss Normandy", she assumes during a press conference around 1:30 am.
"She fought to have this crown, in particular with a crazy physical preparation and her local committee did an incredible job by setting up a great communication campaign", slips discreetly aside one of the members of the committee Miss France .
To train in the profession of beauty queen, she took advice, in particular from a sports coach.
And forged an athletic mind to achieve his goal.
In 2015, she had already plunged into the deep end of the competition.
At that time, the last defending Miss Normandy of 2010, Malika Ménard, had encouraged her.
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“We met in the city center of Caen and that motivated me.
I represented myself as a result of this moment.
She had, then, been elected first runner-up in Miss Basse-Normandie and second runner-up in Miss Normandy.
“Five years later, I tried my luck again with great ambition and everything went extremely well,” she explains.
When I saw Malika Ménard yesterday
(Editor's note: this Saturday she was present during the ceremony at Puy du Fou)
, I had tears in my eyes.
I will rename her number on my cell phone to older sister ”.
A few minutes later, when she returns to her hotel, Malika Ménard will congratulate herself on her flair: “She was bursting the screen, it is normal that she was elected this evening.
"
"My feet hurt a lot"
“I was focused on my smile because I know it can be tight when I'm stressed.
»/ AFP / Loïc Venance
How does the woman who studies gerontology support remember the fateful moment of her election?
“I was focused on my smile because I know it can be tight when I'm stressed.
And then I had a lot of pain in my feet, to be honest, ”she says before rejoicing in her new accessory.
“Since I was little I have watched the election as a family and in addition today is my daddy's birthday.
What better day to be elected?
My scarf has changed
(Editor's note: from Miss Normandy to Miss France)
.
She's bigger and will keep me warmer this winter.
"
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How does she see the future? “My key words are: simplicity, authenticity, naturalness and elegance because that's Miss France,” she sums up. I want to continue to respond to all the people who send me messages but I also want to let myself be carried away. Or rather take a car. The one who succeeds Clémence Botino, flew into the night, towards Paris and one of its most famous Parisian palaces. Her night will be short, followed by the cameras of TF1, before a long Sunday day filled with interviews and photo shoots in princess dresses. The first day of the rest of his life.