A feminist activist group and three rejected contestants are suing Miss France, the country's 101-year-old beauty pageant, for alleged discriminatory entry requirements.

Osez le féminisme (Dare to be feminist) has launched an appeal against the pageant's parent company, Endemol Production, claiming that Miss France competitors perform a labor service and thus should be protected from prejudice under French employment law.

Discrimination against employees in France is illegal on the grounds of gender, sexual orientation, family situation, or genetic features.

Candidates would not be eligible for this year's pageant if they were not at least 5-foot-5, or if they had ever been married or had children, based on the pageant's application form.

A contestant would be disqualified to compete if they had hair extensions or weaves (hair extensions that are fastened into human hair), had tattoos, or smoked.

Contestants must also state their clothing size on the application form, and they are prohibited from making any dramatic physical changes after being accepted into the competition.

Miss France's terms and conditions state that failure to comply could result in a 5,000-euro ($5,822) fine.

While the competition's mission statement is to select "the young woman most representative of beauty and elegance," the rigorous registration standards limit the number of competitors for the crown.

Miss France currently "feeds stereotypes that stand in the way of equality," Alyssa Ahrabare, the head of Osez le féminisme, said.

"The competition rules are discriminatory: marital status, age, attitudes, choices of women, everything is subject to injunctions from another time! Candidates must be single and respect the rules of "elegance", stop these sexist rules!" she added.

The three applicants involved in the lawsuit were rejected from the competition due to their "age, height, drinking and smoking in public, and having tattoos, '' Ahrabare told CNN.

Beauty pageants have been criticized around the world in recent years for their damagingly sexist and archaic codes of conduct imposed on women.

Beauty pageants, however, seem to be getting more popular in France. According to local reports, the crowning of Miss France 2021 had the highest television ratings since 2006, with 8.6 million viewers tuning in to watch.

The next Miss France pageant is scheduled Dec. 11.