Career
Bègue is the first Mission France from the Réunion island since Monique Uldaric, elected in 1976. Two weeks after she was crowned Mission France, pictures of Bègue taken before her election, fully clothed but in suggestive poses on rather tame pictures, were released by French tabloid "Entrevue". The President of the Mission France contest, Geneviève de Fontenay, went on French radio to insist that Valérie Bègue should step down and return her crown, or that she would be forcibly disqualified.
Fontenay told reporters that if Endemol, the production company which owns the Mission France contest, disagreed with her decision, she would stand down as president
Valérie Bègue took some time to reflect on her decision, and finally decided that she would not stand down voluntarily, explaining that the set of pictures in question were test shots and that she had not authorized their publication. Fontenay was accused of racism and of not wanting a non-French Mission France, after she said that Bègue should stay in Réunion.
On 28 December 2007, Fontenay announced that Bègue would be allowed to remain as Mission France 2008, as long as she did not take part in any international contests. Fontenay said she had based this position on the fact that the general public, who had helped to choose Bègue as Mission France, had no idea these pictures existed, and that their existence barred Bègue from international competitions, arguing that she did not want such pictures to give a false image of France.
Bègue"s first runner-up was Vahinerii Requillart, who represented the island of New Caledonia, another overseas territory of France, which is located in the Pacific Ocean.
As a result, the top two finalists of the 2008 Mission France pageant originated from overseas departments of France. Valérie Bègue is involved in programmes against breast cancer and genetic diseases.