By Gopiga Arulchelvam
Emily in Paris depicts the story of an American expatriate working in luxury marketing in the French capital. The seasons follow her adventures as she navigates cultural differences while managing challenging relationships in her personal and professional life. This original Netflix series began in 2020 with 58 million household views globally, and it continues to maintain a considerable audience. In the upcoming fifth season, Emily will move from the City of Lights, Paris to the Eternal City, Rome. Theannouncement made some sparks between the French President Emmanuel Macron and Rome’s Mayor Roberto Gualtieri.
Soft Power: Shaping Global Perspectives through Popular Culture
In international relations, hard power relies on military force and economic threats, while soft power depends on culture, political values, and foreign policies. Joesph Nye defined the soft power as “the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion or payments”. One of the fundamental tools of soft power is cultural diplomacy. The Institute for Cultural Diplomacy identified the use of culture or identity as a way to “strengthen relationships, enhance socio-cultural cooperation, promote national interests and beyond”.
Nowadays, with the development of streaming platforms, people can easily consume popular culture productions from other countries. Political leaders have rapidly understood that the American streaming platform, Netflix, is a powerful cultural diplomacy instrument to improve a nation’s economy and image around the world.
The Quest for Legitimacy
In the last episode of season four, Emily is assigned to work for Rome office, leaving the audience uncertain about her future. In September 2024, the location shift was confirmed by Netflix and was not well received by the French President Emmanuel Macron. He declared during an interview with Variety: “Emily in Paris in Rome doesn’t make sense” and admitted that the show is “super positive in terms of attractiveness”. He even said that he will fight hard to bring Emily back to the country. Consequently, Rome’s Mayor Roberto Gualtieri reacted on X (Twitter) with a post saying: “Dear Emmanuel Macron don’t worry: Emily is doing very well in Rome…And then you can’t control the heart: let’s let her choose”.
This diplomatic exchange via different media channels may be perceived as humorous. However, both politicians have demonstrated a clear willingness to legitimize their involvement with the show. In the last season, the appearance of France's First Lady, Brigitte Macron, highlights the series’ value in terms of valid positive promotion from the government. In thatsequence, Emily meets Brigitte Macron at a restaurant and takes a selfie with her, which she shares on Instagram with the #makeiticonic. The hashtag is a reference to Emmanuel Macron’s slogan aimed at encouraging foreign investments in France.
Opportunities for Tourism Development and Trade
With the huge success of Emily in Paris, France and Italy can only be eager to benefit from a collaboration with the private sector to boost tourism and trade with foreigners. Paris and Rome are well-known cities in the fashion industry. Therefore, it’s a unique opportunity for local and established luxury brands to increase their sales by being featured on the show. Moreover, theFrench government already observed Netflix’s positive impact on global perceptions driven by the popularity of productions filmed in France, like Emily in Paris, Lupin, Balle Perdue, and Murder Mystery. InFebruary 2024, Atout France, the French governmental tourism development agency and Netflix signed a letter of commitment to enhance the country’s attractiveness. At that time, they launched a digital guide and a video campaign to officialize the partnership. The video included various scenes from Emily in Paris and was mixed with other footage to promote French regions, art, culture, history, and gastronomy. Recent research has outlined that “promoting a destination by funding a popular series on new media may be as effective as creating an expensive advertising video of a destination”. Thus, a new trendcalled “set-jetting” has emerged in tourism, which consists of visiting locations showcased in series and movies. Today, many tourists are looking for those places in order to experience their favourite character’sworld. In addition, people often share their pictures/videos on social networks, which will amplify the fame of particular locations and commercial activities.
Challenges Arising from Cultural Tourism
Nevertheless, series can present a biased image of reality. Indeed, Emily in Paris is focusing on luxury and tends to only show the beauty of the city. Therefore, the series is erasing daily life aspects, such as urban noise and waste. Furthermore, the capital is crowded with a diverse population, yet the show seems to ignore socio-economic disparities. Thus, some tourists have experienced the Paris syndrome when the harsh reality collides with their ideals. Besides, shows can convey misleading information, since producers receive authorization to shoot at particular locations. For instance, there is a scene where Emily is sitting with a man on the Spanish Steps in Roma. This area is anhistorical site from the 18th century, where sitting downand taking breaks are not allowed. People can even get fines from €250 to €400 in case of damage.Consequently, authorities should raise awareness of local rules to avoid bad behaviour from foreigners andpreserve cultural heritage.
The Italian capital is currently under major renovationdue to the preparation for the Jubilee, a religious event,that happens every 25 years. Mayor Roberto Gualtieri would like to make the city more united and inclusive to welcome tourists. The total expense is estimated between 2,5 and 4 billion dollars. Local authorities are expecting to expand their gross domestic product with income coming from commercial activities such as hotels, restaurants, and stores. In this context, Emily in Paris could be a highly valuable way to promote Italian rich cultural heritage and increase tourism.