A new stamp emblazoned with the face of Marianne, France's revolutionary symbol, has caused a stir after its creator said it was inspired by a Ukrainian feminist known for topless protests.
The stamp, unveiled by President Francois Hollande on Sunday’s national day, shows the face of a youthful, dewy-eyed Marianne from the shoulders up, her long hair flowing down and her hand raised.
“For all those who ask who the model was for Marianne, it’s a mix of several women, but particularly Inna Shevchenko,” Olivier Ciappa, one of the stamp’s designers, said on his Twitter account.
The 23-year-old Shevchenko, a Ukrainian who has been granted political asylum in France, is the leader of the French branch of Femen, a self-declared “radical feminist” group known for its topless protests against sexual exploitation of women, sexism and religious institutions.
