Commentary: How do the people of Paris feel about ‘Emily in Paris?’

Netflix’s original new series “Emily in Paris” has people all over the world talking, but not always in the best way.

The show, created by “Sex and the City,” creator Darren Star, centers around Emily Cooper, played by Lily Collins, a girl from Chicago who is transferred to Paris through her job at a large marketing firm.

Cooper does not speak any French and lives in the city while having to adjust as quickly as possible. The show follows her new life in Paris making friends, learning the language and furthering her career in the city of love.

The city of love has a lot to say about this series though, and it is not all good. French critics are upset by the show’s lack of understanding of the variety of cultures France has to offer and the emphasis on French stereotypes.

French people being lazy, rude, not showering very often, cheating on their significant others and only caring about sex are some of the stereotypes the show addresses. The fact that Cooper does not know any French and, at the beginning of the story, isn’t trying to learn the language also does not sit right with French natives.

The show’s male lead, Lucas Bravo, who plays Emily’s love interest Gabriel, recently spoke out and agreed with these critiques.

“We’re portraying clichés and we’re portraying one single vision of Paris. Paris is one of the most diverse cities in the world,” Bravo said in a Cosmopolitan interview.

He went on to explain that while Paris is extremely diverse, every individual person sees Paris from a different perspective and this is the perspective Emily Cooper’s character sees it through.

During this time in the world, people need a positive escape from the difficult circumstances surrounding us all. “Emily in Paris” provides us with that escape. Being able to live vicariously through Emily’s character and her glamorous experiences in France is just the feel-good story people need right now.

This is exactly what most of the citizens of France are also saying. Some say the series has allowed them to see Paris through a fresh set of eyes and they have fallen in love with their beautiful city all over again.

While French critics are not too happy with the show so far, it is also important to consider that the series is only one season in so far. Bravo himself said that it would take more than a lifetime to see everything there is to see in France.

People are often quick to “cancel” things before even giving them the chance to prove themselves. Hopefully “Emily in Paris” will be renewed for another season and give the creators of the show an opportunity to show us those other perspectives of France.