Miss France 2026: Meet Priya Padavatan, Miss Réunion

Bad start to the year for the Miss France organization after the release of Hubert Guérin’s explosive book. The former right-hand man of Geneviève de Fontenay has thrown a stone into the pond, claiming to have collected several dozen testimonies from Misses or contestants who were sexually abused between 1990 and 2002. To quell the fire, several beauty queens spoke out, insisting they had never been victims of such acts and inviting potential victims to come forward with complaints. Thus, in this, to say the least, tense climate, the national election will take place in three months.

Indeed, in December, Angélique Angarni-Filopon will pass the torch. Our 34-year-old Miss Martinique will hand over the sash and crown to the one who will succeed her in 2026. That evening, thirty contestants will take the stage to defend themselves before the viewers and the jury members, whose composition is not yet known. At this point, sixteen contestants have already been crowned in their home region. This was the case, on August 23, with Priya Padavatan crowned Miss Réunion at the Champ-Fleuri Theater. Aged 19, she is among the youngest candidates in this year’s competition. But who is she? Karla Miller.fr invites you to discover her résumé.

Miss France 2026: Priya Padavatan, her uncle is not a stranger

Priya Padavatan is now the 68th beauty queen to represent Réunion in the national pageant. Hailing from Bras-Panon, the pretty brunette stands 5’7″ tall—the minimum height required by the competition rules. Her dream: to become a lawyer. She is currently a law student and has just completed her second year of undergraduate studies. A diligent student, Priya also completed a preparatory class in law and economics, as reported by L’Info.

Back in Réunion, she is expected to move to mainland France in mid-November, according to Aziz Patel, the regional delegate of the Miss Réunion committee. This will give her the chance to attend the Paris Tourism Fair and participate in several Fashion Week runway shows. And finally, she will likely have time to spend with her uncle not far from the Palais Bourbon. His name is Jean-Hugues Ratenon, and he currently sits in the National Assembly with La France Insoumise.

As a reminder, since the Miss France pageant began, only two Miss Réunion have ever been crowned. The last one was Valérie Bègue in 2008, and many people remember her. The former partner of Camille Lacourt was at the center of an unprecedented scandal pitting her against Geneviève de Fontenay.