Is Paris the city of love again? The series and films on the platform say yes.

BarcelonaThe concept of romance varies from person to person, but for many years Paris has been hailed as the city of love, and in recent months, series and films on streaming platforms have taken to trying to recapture this idealized image of the French capital. One of the productions that has done so most explicitly has been The summer I fell in love, one of the season's biggest phenomena. In this series, created by American Jenny Han and based on a trilogy she wrote herself, Belly tries to escape a love triangle by moving to Paris, the city where she will find herself again and where she will also decide on one of the two brothers who have made her heart dance for years.

The plot of this young adult series is anything but original and, in fact, is a clear nod to Sabrina, one of Audrey Hepburn's most famous films and one of the stylistic and narrative touchstones of this Amazon fiction. In Han's original books, Belly went to Spain. When it came to transferring the action to the small screen, the creator decided to send her to Paris, a destination that seemed more romantic. "I've always liked the idea of a girl going to Paris to find herself and fall in love; it's much more romantic," she explained to Entertainment Weekly about the change of location. The final part of the series was filmed in the French capital, and the viewer's vision of the city is quite idealized: despite having precarious jobs and working without contact, Belly ends up living in an apartment with a view of the Sacré Coeur (just like Sabrina in the 1954 film).

Netflix's Parisian Passion

One of the latest romantic comedies released by Netflix also has Paris as its backdrop. The other Paris An aspiring artist from Texas signs up for a reality show of appointments that must take place in the French capital and that will allow her to pay for the Parisian art school where she has already been admitted. In reality, the program is filmed in another Paris, the one that exists in Texas. Even so, the climax of the film does take place in the City of Light.

Netflix has been pushing for Paris to regain the status of a romantic city it had in the past. One of the most obvious examples of the fascination that the city produces in American productions is Emily in Paris, which will premiere its fifth season in December. Starring Lily Collins, the series tells the story of an American woman arriving in Paris and her professional and romantic adventures. The series falls into all the clichés about the city and the French and also includes unrealistic details, such as the fact that Emily can live her life in France without speaking French. Even so, the series has been a boost for tourism in the city and has given rise to the so-called "Emily effect." In 2024, a study by the French National Center for Cinema and Image indicated that 38% of tourists surveyed cited the series as one of the reasons that prompted them to visit the city (11% chose Lupin as a reason). When the fourth season moved part of its action to Italy, Emmanuel Macron quickly came out and said that they would fight to keep the series in France. "I think it's good for France's image. Emily in Paris "It's super positive in terms of attraction for the country. For my business, it's a very good initiative," Macron told VarietyIn fact, the president's wife, Brigitte Macron, made a cameo in the fourth season.

The idea of an American girl finding love in Paris will be repeated in one of the films Netflix has prepared for this Christmas, Champagne problems, scheduled for November 19. In this case, the protagonist is an executive who travels to France to oversee the purchase of a famous champagne brand. Upon arriving in the capital, she begins a passionate romance with a Parisian who turns out to be the son of the owner of the brand she is to buy. The Americans aren't the only ones exploiting the supposedly romantic nature of Paris; the French themselves have also taken the plunge. It was also released on Netflix a few weeks ago. French lover, with Omar Sy (Lupin) in the role of an actor who falls in love with a recently divorced waitress. The film has been in the top ten most-watched non-English language films on the platform for three weeks.

After the 2024 Olympics and the impact of series like Emily in ParisThe French capital is experiencing a surge in tourism, worrying residents of neighborhoods like Montmartre. In 2024, the Paris region welcomed 48.7 million visitors, and the number is expected to be even higher in 2025. According to Reuters, Parisian authorities say they already saw a 20% increase in bookings in January of this year compared to 2024. The television fascination with Paris seems unstoppable: The White Lotus, one of the series that most contributes to increasing tourism with its locations, has chosen France as the setting for its fourth season.