In a development that has the European political elite in an uproar, the Mayor of Rome has fired back at French President Emmanuel Macron’s vow to “fight hard” to keep Netflix’s hit series “Emily in Paris” from migrating to the Italian capital.
The battle lines were drawn this week when Macron declared in an interview with Variety that he would not accept the protagonist of the popular comedy, Lily Collins, abandoning Paris for the Eternal City. “Emily in Paris in Rome doesn’t make sense,” the French leader proclaimed.
But Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri has a message for Macron: Hands off our girl!
“You cannot intimidate or interfere with Netflix production plans for the next season of Emily in Paris. It is just not done,” Gualtieri told The Hollywood Reporter Roma, clearly exasperated by the French president’s grandstanding.
The Mayor of Rome was more than a trifle miffed by Macron’s announcement, which came just days after Netflix confirmed that the popular series would be heading to Italy for its fifth season. Gualtieri wondered aloud whether the French leader might have “more pressing matters to worry about” than the geographic location of a fictional television character.
“Doesn’t President Macron have more pressing matters to worry about?” Gualtieri mused. “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.”
The Rome mayor noted that there are far more urgent issues demanding Macron’s attention, from the wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East to the devastating hurricane that recently struck America. “There are perhaps a few more pressing issues for the French president. 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,” Gualtieri said.
From the Eternal City’s perspective, having Emily Cooper grace its cobblestone streets is a significant coup. “We see Emily’s move to Rome as a confirmation that our city is becoming increasingly important, and we are quite relaxed about Netflix production decisions. They know what they are doing,” Gualtieri asserted.
The mayor urged Macron to “relax” and accept that the popular series is heading to Rome. “To be honest, we think Mr Macron should just relax,” Gualtieri said.
In a sign of the close relationship between the two European capitals, the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, reportedly discussed the issue with Gualtieri and shared a good-natured laugh over Macron’s reaction. “We talked, we chuckled about Macron,” Gualtieri revealed. Hidalgo, for her part, acknowledged the discussion, describing it as a moment where “we laughed together.”
Macron’s initial comments came after he praised the show as “super positive in terms of attractiveness for the country” and expressed pride over his wife Brigitte’s cameo appearance in the fourth season. The French president even suggested he might attempt to “fight hard” to keep Emily in Paris, declaring that the idea of “Emily in Paris in Rome doesn’t make sense.”
However, the Mayor of Rome remains unfazed by Macron’s bluster, insisting that a production company like Netflix is not beholden to the political whims of world leaders. “They know what they are doing,” Gualtieri said confidently.
As the debate rages on, one thing is clear: the battle for Emily’s affections has become the latest diplomatic clash between France and Italy, with Rome firmly embracing the heroine’s impending arrival and Paris refusing to let go without a fight. Ultimately, it will be up to the Netflix producers to determine where the lovable American marketer’s journey leads next and whether Macron’s pleas will fall on deaf ears.