Whether she’s in Paris or not, Emily can’t help but cause drama. After the season-four finale of Emily in Paris saw Lily Collins’s titular marketing maven mull swapping Paris for Rome, French president Emmanuel Macron said he will “fight hard” to keep Emily in her beloved Paris: “Emily in Paris in Rome doesn’t make sense.”
The French president sat for an interview with Variety, where he was asked his opinion on the hit Netflix series that takes place in France’s capital and that recently featured his wife, Brigitte Macron, in a cameo role. “I think it’s good for the image of France,” Macron said. “Emily in Paris is super positive in terms of attractiveness for the country. For my own business, it’s a very good initiative.” As such, Macron wasn’t thrilled about Emily’s decision to leave Paris with her new love interest Marcello (Eugenio Franceschini) at the end of season four. “We will fight hard. And we will ask them to remain in Paris!” he said.
But Macron might have to put up a fight. Roberto Gualtieri, the mayor of Rome, playfully clapped back at Macron after the interview was published, telling the French president to “relax” about Emily’s potential move. “Take it easy, Emmanuel Macron. Emily in Rome is perfect,” Gualtieri tweeted. He followed up his post on X with a phone call to THR Roma to express his pleasure at Emily Cooper trading the City of Love for the Eternal City.
“Doesn’t President Macron have more pressing matters to worry about?” said Mayor Gualtieri to THR Roma. “I would like to believe, at least I would like to hope, that Macron was joking, because he ought to know that a production company like Netflix does not take orders from heads of state or make decisions based on political pressure.”
He also noted that perhaps the president of France should have greater concerns than whether a fictional character chooses to leave Paris. “There are perhaps a few more pressing issues for the French president,” he said. “For example, there a couple of wars going on in Ukraine and in the Middle East, there is a horrible hurricane that hit America and which is linked to climate change, and a few other matters of state in Europe for Macron that are more important than Emily, I imagine.”
Ultimately, there is no bad blood between Paris and Rome as they vie for Emily’s affection and work visa. Gualtieri told THR Roma that he and the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, have chatted about the whole debacle. “We talked, we chuckled about Macron,” Gualtieri said. “We laughed together,” confirmed Hidalgo. “I love Rome, and we are both exclusive cities.”
Emily in Paris was recently renewed for season five, so we’ll soon have the chance to see what city ultimately steals the American expat’s heart. Mayor of Chicago Brandon Johnson, it’s your move.
