Miss France 2008 compromising pics

Valerie Begue was feted as a princess at home on the French-run Indian Ocean island of Reunion when she was crowned Miss France earlier this month.

But jubilation quickly turned to dismay with the publication of compromising photos of the 22-year-old beauty queen that risk toppling her from her throne.

The head of the Miss France committee has demanded the brunette give up her two-week-old crown after photos emerged Friday of her posing Christ-like in a swimming pool and suggestively licking yoghurt out of a pot.

"It is absolutely unacceptable. She must resign immediately, and if not we will make her leave," Genvieve de Fontenay told Europe 1 radio station.

Begue initially said she had no intention of giving up her crown, awarded only on December 8, and said she felt "betrayed" by the pictures' publication.

But she told a press conference later Friday that she would take a "period of reflection" before deciding, adding that she "understood" the reaction of the Miss France committee.

All entrants to the competition have to sign a disclaimer stating that they have never been photographed fully nude or in compromising positions.

The 1.74-metre tall (5ft 7in) business student said the photos were taken three years ago and "were never meant to be published". Neither she nor the photographer was paid for them, she insisted.

"I made an error of youth, I admit it," she said.

The revelation came as a shock to Reunion residents, who had only Thursday turned out en masse to welcome Begue at the airport as she returned home, the first islander to be named Miss France since 1978.

Phone lines to Radio Free Dom were jammed following the news, with most people saying they were "staggered" at the revelations. "It's not fair, she was representing Reunion so well," one woman told Radio Free Dom television.

Via abs-cbnnews.com