Miss France 1997

Miss France 1997
Date	December 13, 1996
Presenters	Jean-Pierre Foucault
Venue	Futuroscope, Poitiers, Poitou-Charentes
Broadcaster	TF1
Entrants	44
Placements	12
Debuts	Miss Artois-Côte d'Opale Miss Béarn Miss Rouergue-Cévennes
Withdrawals	Miss Cévennes Miss Côte d'Azur Miss Côte d'Opale Miss Martinique
Winner	Patricia Spehar  Paris
← 1996 1998 →

Miss France 1997, the 67th edition of the Miss France pageant, was held on December 13, 1996 at the Futuroscope in Vienne.

It was the first time that the pageant took place at the Futuroscope Congress Palace.^[1] Contestants traveled to Saint-Barthelemy for two weeks in November, and they repeated at the Futuroscope two weeks before the pageant and the final competition on December 13, 1996.

The event, held at the Futuroscope Congress Palace was broadcast live on TF1, with more than ten million viewers.

The president of the judging panel was the beautiful Frenchwoman Christiane Martel Aleman, who had been Miss Cinémonde 1953 and Miss Universe 1953, as well as a leading actress in Mexico in the 1960s.

The winner was Patricia Spehar of Paris was crowned Miss France 1997 by the outgoing title-holder Laure Belleville of Pays de Savoie, Miss France 1996.^[2] She has represented France at Miss Universe 1997 but unplaced. She also placed in top 15 at Miss International 1998. The first runner up, Marie Borg, has finished 1st runner-up at Miss International 1997.^[3]

The 44 Miss France 1997 contestants were:

Order of announcement of the 12 semifinalists:

Numero	Contestant
1	Miss Anjou
2	Miss Aquitaine
3	Miss Auvergne
4	Miss Béarn
5	Miss Berry
6	Miss Charentes Poitou
7	Miss Guadeloupe
8	Miss Hainaut
9	Miss Paris
10	Miss Provence
11	Miss Rhône-Alpes
12	Miss Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées

Order of announcement of the 5 finalists:

Numero	Contestant
1	Miss Paris
2	Miss Guadeloupe
3	Miss Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées
4	Miss Anjou
5	Miss Aquitaine

• Paris wins for the thirteenth time in the Miss France pageant after eleven years drought.
• Guadeloupe is placed for third consecutive year.
• Anjou, Charentes Poitou, Hainaut and Provence are placed for second consecutive year.
• Auvergne is placed for the first time since the Miss France 1991 pageant.
• Aquitaine, Berry, Paris et Toulouse are placed for the first time since the Miss France 1995 pageant.
• Béarn et Rhône-Alpes are placed for the first time.

Contestants who previously competed or will be competing at international beauty pageants:

Miss Universe

• 1997: Paris - Patricia Spehar
  • (Miami Beach,  United States)

Miss International

• 1997: Toulouse - Marie Borg (2nd Runner-up)
  • (Kyoto,  Japan)
• 1998: Paris - Patricia Spehar (Top 15)
  • (Tokyo,  Japan)

• Official website