When you picture a French woman, what comes to mind is normally a rake thin beauty, pouting around her vowels, sipping bordeaux and smoking a Gauloises.

But it turns out that the image of sultry, skinny so called perfection has been one of the most oppressive for French women themselves. In France, where style rules, a plus sized woman comes up against even more prejudice than in the UK, according to an interview with Stephanie Zwicky in the Times.

Stephanie would know all about it; she recently featured in French fashion Bible Elle magazine. Before now, a BBW appearing in such an iconic magazine would be unimaginable, but, as Ms Zwicky, who is Swiss, explains, her inclusion is another step on the road to size acceptance, even in one of the least accepting cultures there is.

The battle isn’t won yet - Stephanie has explained that there has been plenty of harsh criticism of her size since featuring in the magazine - but it’s a great indicator of growing appreciation for women of size. Roll on next month’s issue, we say!