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Netflix's dream Paris improves the image of the capital in the eyes of Americans

2023-02-13T16:52:40.235Z


EXCLUSIVE SURVEY - 73% of Americans now have a good image of Paris, compared to only 39% in 2007. An enthusiasm that even rises to 86% among those who have watched the “Emily in Paris” series.


Who said that Paris no longer makes people dream?

It is true, however, that the capital is sometimes disappointing to many tourists, so much so that the Japanese sometimes confess to experiencing the "

Pari shōkōgun

", the Paris syndrome.

It is a pathology whose scientific contours are still uncertain, but increasingly documented, which would reach travelers in full disenchantment when they confront their fantasy of Parisian life with the reality of a dirty, sometimes disreputable city. and not really concerned about the welcome it gives to the half-million Japanese tourists who nevertheless visit it every year.

And this is also the opinion held by Americans for a long time: in 2007, only 39% of

" from Paris.

But in fifteen years, this aversion has been reversed, as shown by a study by Ifop* for the travel blog

Bonjour New York

and which

Le Figaro

reveals exclusively.

In 2023, 73% of Americans now have a good image of Paris.

Popularity rating of Paris in the United States IFOP

This return to grace of the French capital with the United States is reflected in a marked increase in attractiveness.

Never in twenty years have Americans dreamed so much of working or studying in France – or even of living there: this is an aspiration shared by 36% of them.

So much so that Paris even ends up winning out over New York: if they had the opportunity and the means, 75% of Americans would like to stay in Paris (compared to 70% who would like to stay in New York).

Live or work in France?

FIFG

A trend that

Le Figaro

has already regularly had occasion to describe, particularly in real estate, where the attractiveness of Paris has been confirmed lately:

“we see that the Americans are coming back.

This is what makes the difference,”

underlined Frédéric Teboul, head of the Fredelion real estate network.

The strength of the dollar against the euro also makes businesses in the capital very attractive to customers from across the Atlantic.

This resurgence in real estate and tourism is a general trend, with a marked increase in attendance in 2022: evidenced by the latest figures revealed by the Booking platform, for example, according to which Paris has once again risen to the top of the most sought-after destinations on its website. site as the All Saints holidays approach.

Read alsoReal estate: Americans back in Paris

But what specifically drives Americans to set their sights on Paris again?

For those who follow the trends of the entertainment industry on the other side of the Atlantic, the answer seems obvious... and the IFOP study confirms it without a shadow of a doubt: the playful smile of Lily Collins, star of the Netflix series "

Emily in Paris

", is not for nothing.

This American blockbuster, three seasons of which have already been broadcast around the world, has accumulated audience successes: in the five days following the release of season 3, the Netflix platform was already recording more than 117 million hours of cumulative view.

According to IFOP, nearly a third of those polled have seen the series.

Admittedly, this naive odyssey of an ambitious young American, trying to adapt to Parisian life, puts on clichés and annoys snobs - starting with the

New York Times

, which had a field day.

But whether we rejoice or we are sorry, the facts are there: a Netflix series was enough for Paris to become

fashionable

again in the

States

.

If we take for example the proportion of Americans who have a good image of the city, this stagnates at 67% among those who have not seen the series, against 86% among those who have seen it;

and seeing “

Emily in Paris

” more than doubles the proportion of Americans who dream of living in Paris.

Clichés on Paris seen by the Americans IFOP

"That's why I live in France..."

In detail, Netflix is ​​shattering negative prejudices about the capital: 23% of Americans who have not seen the series believe that there are almost no rats in Paris, compared to 63% of those who have. have seen.

Easy, you will say: they adhere only to an image of Épinal far removed from reality!

However, among those who have seen the series, those who have traveled to Paris in the last ten years are much more likely (89%) to believe that the Netflix fiction is close to reality, than those who have not. never returned (79%)!

"Emily in Paris": an image close to reality?

FIFG

This return to grace of Paris also benefits, by ricochet, the French themselves.

88% of

Americans believe us to be “

bons vivants ”, but also “

cultured

” (79%), “

refined

” (77%) and even… “

welcoming

” (69%).

They are only one in two Americans to consider us "

pretentious

", and barely more than a third find us "

grouchy

".

And half a century after Sardou's song, "

J'habite en France

", it's hard to prove the singer wrong when he believes that "

There are some who think, and it's certain, that the French are defending themselves well.

All women are there to say it: We make them die of pleasure

".

Indeed, two-thirds of Americans consider that the French have a rather frivolous, joyful and unbridled life: that it is "

acceptable to have one-night stands

" or even that "

people talk more easily about their sex life than of their income

.

Read also“We assume every fantasized aspect of this series”: Lily Collins defends Emily in Paris in “C à vous”

"

The detailed analysis of the degree of belief in a whole set of clichés traditionally attributed to the French shows that this attractiveness of the French and their capital is based on a globally positive vision of French society and its mores, in particular in the ranks of the categories of the most progressive American population

", analyzes François Kraus, director of the politics & current affairs division of the IFOP.

Indeed, and this is another lesson from the survey, the image of Paris and the French is much more positive among Democratic sympathizers than Republicans.

French bashing is a deep trend in the American microcosm, especially in conservative circles who perceive us as lazy and dissipated.

France's refusal to follow Bush to Iraq only made matters worse.

Today, this distrust is rising in progressive and urban America, but this process takes longer in deeper America

,” adds François Kraus.

The gap is also measured at the level of diploma: 86% of 2nd and 3rd cycle graduates have a good image of the French, against 74% of 1st cycle graduates and 57% of those with a low level of education.

*Study conducted by self-administered online questionnaire from January 18 to 20, 2023, with a nationally representative sample of 1,113 people, representative of the American population aged 18 and over

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2023-02-13

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