French minister Marlène Schiappa to appear on Playboy front cover

Marlene Schiappa’s appearance in Playboy has prompted criticism in France

A French government minister is set to appear on the cover of Playboy magazine, prompting criticism from politicians in the country.

Marlene Schiappa will be on the cover of the French edition of the magazine fully clothed and has given an interview to the publication on women’s rights and LGBTQ+ issues.

Ms Shiappa, who is the current minister for the social economy and French associations, has long campaigned for gender equality and spearheaded a French law banning cat-calling and the harassment of women.

Her decision has prompted criticism from politicians in France as the country is rocked by widespread unrest at president Emmanual Macron’s reforms to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.

Green MP Sandrine Rousseau told TV channel BFM: “Where is the respect for the French people?

“People who are going to have to work for two years more, who are demonstrating, who are losing days of salary, who aren’t managing to eat because of inflation.

“Women’s bodies should be able to be exposed anywhere, I don’t have a problem with that, but there’s a social context.”

French prime minister Elisabeth Born has also reportedly told Ms Schiappa that the cover is “not at all appropriate”.

And politicians Jean Luc Mélenchon also criticised Ms Schiappa’s appearance in the publication and Mr Macron giving an interview to children’s magazine Pif Gadget.

On Saturday night he tweeted: “In a country where the President expresses himself in Pif and his minister in Playboy, the problem would be the opposition. France is going off the rails.”

However, defending herself in a post on Twitter on Saturday night, Ms Schiappa said: “Defending the right of women to dispose of their bodies is everywhere and all the time.

“In France, women are free. With all due respect to the backsliders and the hypocrites.”

Thousands of French people have taken to the streets in recent weeks over the pension reforms which have caused violent outbursts and strikes.

The French government claim that raising the retirement age is important to ensure the pension system does not go bust.

However, critics say there are other ways pensions could be funded, such as taxing the wealthy more, and opinion polls show a majority of voters are opposed to the pension reforms.