French First Lady Brigitte Macron has made a brief appearance in the latest installment of hit series Emily in Paris.
President Emmanuel Macron’s wife appears in the second part of the comedy’s fourth season, which will air on Netflix on Thursday.
The film – which revolves around a Chicago woman named Emily Cooper, played by British-American star Lily Collins, who moves to the French capital – has won fans but also drawn criticism for its stereotypical portrayal of Paris.
But Mrs Macron, 71, showed her strong support by starring in a brief scene taking a selfie with Emily in a restaurant.
Collins said the idea for the cameo, first reported by Elle magazine this week, came about when she and the show’s creator Darren Star met with Ms Macron at the Élysée Palace in December 2022.
The first lady was referenced in the show’s first season, when she shared Emily’s Instagram post expressing frustration that the French word for vagina, le vagin, is masculine.
“She’s a huge fan of the show and was very amused when she was mentioned in the first season,” Collins shared with Elle.
“That scene in season four is a wink scene, and getting to film with her was really an honor and a joy.”
Meanwhile, the Star newspaper said Ms Macron had a “great talent” when it came to assessing her performance.
In the scene, Emily (Collins) approaches Ms Macron as she sits with two other women in a restaurant.
The First Lady waved at the guard as Emily explained that she was the person behind the Instagram account Emily in Paris.
After a brief exchange, Emily took a selfie with Mrs. Macron and posted it on Instagram, the post included the hashtag #makeiticonic, a slogan in President Macron’s campaign to attract foreign investors to France.
Netflix confirmed to AFP that the first lady wore her own outfit “without any specific instructions” from the popular fashion show.
Collins was quoted as saying that Mrs Macron “actually asked us” to appear on the show, “which was fantastic”.
But the Élysée Palace is said to have informed French media that the request actually came from the show’s producers.
Ms Macron has some background in drama. It was a subject she taught in high school when she first met the future French president, a member of her class, in 1993 when he was 15. They married 14 years later.
She also made a brief appearance in Vestiaires, a French comedy following two disabled swimmers, in 2018. Earlier this year, a French production company announced that created a six-part series about her life.
First aired in 2020, Emily in Paris has attracted criticism for its stunning depiction of city life, from the lavish beret-wearing lifestyle to the clean, Instagrammable shots, while avoiding issues like litter, crime and social conflict.
Star has defended the show, saying it aims to be a “love letter to Paris”, seen through Emily’s eyes.
“The first thing she saw was clichés because that’s her point of view,” he explained when speaking in 2020. “I wanted to do a show that celebrated that area of Paris.”
The latest series has attracted some harsh reviews, with The Telegraph complained about “more boredom” and “lousy costumes”, but Collider praised the “shocking ending” after a “chaotic second act”.
