Emily in Paris: Emmanuel Macron will 'fight hard' to keep hit Netflix show in Paris

CNN
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When the hit Netflix series “Emily in Paris” announced at the end of season four that its main character would be traveling to Rome, it surprised many viewers. Now French President Emmanuel Macron joined the conversation and said the country would “fight hard” to prevent the show from moving to the Italian capital.

“We're going to ask her to stay in Paris, 'Emily in Paris' in Rome doesn't make sense,” he told Variety in an interview published Wednesday.

The series focuses on 20-year-old American marketing manager Emily Cooper, played by Lily Collins, who moves from Chicago to Paris for a job and has fun doing it la belle vie in the French capital. It is often one of Netflix's most-watched series, and when the streaming giant renewed it for a fifth season, its creator Darren Star said Emily would now be “present in Rome.”

Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri responded to the French president's comments on X with a wink: “Dear Emmanuel Macron, don't worry: Emily is doing great in Rome.”

Gualtieri added in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter Roma: “Doesn't President Macron have more pressing matters to worry about?”

Gualtieri said: “I would like to believe, at least I would hope, that Macron was joking, because he should know that a production company like Netflix does not take orders from heads of state or make decisions based on political pressure.”

Macron has long been associated with the show. His wife Brigitte made a cameo appearance in season four when Emily spotted her in a cafe and asked for a selfie. And in the show's fictional universe, Brigitte shares one of Emily's social media posts in the first season in which she expresses her dismay that the French word for vagina – le vagin – is masculine.

“I was super proud and she really enjoyed doing it,” Macron said of his wife’s cameo. “It's only a few minutes, but I think it was a very nice moment for her. I think it's good for France's image. “Emily in Paris” is extremely positive in terms of its appeal to the country. It’s a very good initiative for my own company.”

While the show has been criticized by some French viewers for playing on Parisian stereotypes and avoiding problems such as homelessness in the city, it has boosted tourism in the country's capital, a study conducted in January by France's National Film Center found.

About a tenth of tourists decided to travel to France after watching a particular film or series, and in 38% of those cases it was “Emily in Paris” that provided the inspiration for a vacation to France, the study found .

But despite his wife's associations with the show and its impact on tourism, Macron has no plans to make a cameo appearance of his own.

“I’m less attractive than Brigitte,” he told Variety.