LE PARISIEN (France)
PARIS – Et voila…there she is:
Elysee (Twitter)
The Marianne is France’s national emblem, present on various official logos of public institutions, including official stamps of the French postal service. The stamps of the female figure have been redesigned every few years since 1967, based on famous women.
According to Olivier Ciappa, the French artist of the latest incarnation, released for July 14 national Bastille Day celebrations, this year’s Marianne is based on the 23-year-old Ukranian co-founder of radical feminist group Femen Inna Shevchenko.
Pour tous ceux qui demandent le modèle de Marianne, c’est un mélange de plusieurs femmes mais surtout Inna Shevchenko, fondatrice des FEMEN.
— Olivier Ciappa (@OlivierCiappa) July 14, 2013
(“For all those who wonder who is the Marianne model, it is a mixture of many women but especially Inna Shevchenko, FEMEN founder”)
FEMEN has come to prominence over the past two years with sometimes shocking protests for women’s rights and gay rights, often arriving in public places bare-breasted.
The Marianne and Inna Shevechenko – Photo: Femen (Twitter)
According to The Parisien daily, in reaction to the new stamp French president François Hollande said “The young are my term’s priority, and this stamp is the illustration of it.”
The first stamp based on a famous French woman was modelled after Brigitte Bardot in 1967:
The Marianne de Cheffer (photo link)
Another famous French woman was Laetitia Casta who was the model of the “14 juillet” stamp:
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The 14 juillet Marianne – Photo : Sebjarod
