“Borderline Porno”: MTV France’s ‘Frenchie Shore’ Slammed By French Minister Of Culture For Being “The Trashiest Reality Show Ever”

MTV France and Paramount+ recently premiered a spinoff of the American reality classic Jersey Shore, sparking criticisms and backlash that feel very reminiscent of the response to the original series.

Titled Frenchie Shore, the new series follows a group of young housemates partying at a villa in Southern France. The series first premiered Nov. 11 on MTV France and Paramount+, where it has been sitting at No. 1 in France with each new episode.

But the French minister of culture Rima Abdul Malak is certainly not among the series’ many fans; Abdul Malak slammed the show’s sexually explicit nature, saying it was “borderline porno” in a recent interview with Le Parisien. She also called it “the trashiest reality show ever produced in France.”

The show has a warning for viewers under certain ages on MTV and Paramount+, but Abdul Malak expressed concern that “anyone can come across it on social networks,” saying the show could influence teenagers to think “it realistically depicts human interactions and sexual relationships.”

As Variety reported, the French minister of culture asked that Arcom, a French broadcasting authority, take action against Frenchie Shore. But the organization stated the show is technically not under its jurisdiction considering MTV France and Paramount+ are based in Czech Republic and Germany, respectively. Instead, the president of the organization wrote to its counterparts in the countries, voicing concerns many viewers reportedly raised about the show’s content.

This backlash comes as no surprise for viewers who were around for the original Jersey Shore premiere in 2009. Multiple Italian-American organizations requested that the show be canceled because they felt it used “ethnic slurs, violence and poor behavior to marginalize and stereotype Italian-Americans.”

This is not the first time Jersey Shore has gotten an international adaptation, though. The iconinc series has since been remade in Poland, Mexico, the U.K., Brazil, Germany, and more, later resulting in an all-star competition titled All Star Shore, where international contestants competed for a grand prize of $150,000. Frenchie Shore is the third French adaptation of the series.

And of course, the original Jersey Shore is still going strong. The cast recently reunited for Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, which saw the return of Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola.