“Are you really filming this afternoon?”
On the Place de l'Estrapade in Paris, gullible tourists mingle with the teams and extras seated on benches.
Before filming begins, everyone gets busy around the natural and emblematic settings of
Emily
In Paris.
For ten days, the fourth season of the Netflix series has been filming in this district of the 5th arrondissement.
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In the absence of the security cordon, tourists make their way through the Parisian street, spring for the filming of Lily Collins' character.
In the middle of the technicians bustling around the square, Célika Bonamigo, her sister and her son are amazed.
“We came just to visit the place,”
confides the Brazilian.
We love Emily.
It’s cliché, but we don’t care
,” she says.
A little further away, sitting on the terrace of the famous bakery in the series, called “Boulangerie Moderne”, Kokoro Ito and Kaori Marzan are delighted with their experience.
“We came just for the bakery,”
exclaim the Japanese visitors.
“
We're going to explore all of Paris, but we wanted to come to see the set of the series, we didn't even know they were filming today.”
Also read: Emily in Paris: Netflix steps up its pace to shoot season 4 before the 2024 Olympics
Around the square, the neighborhood's merchants seem to appreciate the arrival of the Netflix teams.
Kamel Tajouri runs a business visible in all of Emily
's scenes
.
The front of his supply store becomes that of a florist during the filming.
“
I'm enjoying filming well,
” admits the forty-year-old.
What stands out is my window!
There are curious people hiding inside the store to observe the filming,”
confides the man who keeps his business open during the recording.
“
There is undoubtedly an
Emily effect.
»
Michel Chandeigne, bookseller on Place de l'Estrapade
Two stores further on, the manager of the Portuguese and Brazilian bookstore Michel Chandeigne is surprised by the frustration reported by our colleagues from Le
Parisien
and France Bleu.
“
It seems that people are complaining, it’s crazy,”
says the 67-year-old man.
“It’s a great team, they are respectful,”
assures the bookseller.
One day, they only asked me to put only blue books in the window, that’s all!”
He returns to the complaints of his neighbors:
“I don’t understand how people can complain,”
he insists.
There is undoubtedly an
Emily effect.
Thanks to her, there are a lot of people who come!”
, he rejoices.
Valerio Abate, co-owner of Gabriel's restaurant (Lucas Bravo), shares this opinion.
“I think it’s a great thing for the neighborhood, Paris and for France: this series is a global success
,” he sums up.
“There are many European cities that would have liked to have Emily, but it’s Paris that has her!”
Annoyed traders
“Well done florist,”
calls out Carole Médrinal, a resident of the neighborhood as she enters Kamel Tajouri’s business filled with multicolored flowers.
“The whole world comes here.
It’s breathtaking to see this place so different thanks to this series
,” admits the forty-year-old, fan of the heroine of the series.
“I think this girl (Emily) inspired a lot of people.
I think her outfits are fabulous!”
Martine Clément, who takes English lessons right next to the restaurant in the series, also defends
Emily In Paris
.
“It counteracts this image of a slightly dirty Paris.
We need this!”
.
Same story from the technical team.
At the corner of the square, Abdallah Defdafi monitors the smooth running of the filming set-up.
“I do guard duty, security, I arrive before filming,”
says the security employee.
Here, it's quiet unlike other neighborhoods, not to mention the boroughs, where local residents are more upset.
I did a lot of filming in Paris,”
assures the forty-year-old.
Speeches which contrast with those cited by France Bleu which spoke of the arrival of mass tourists and the nuisances that go with it.
Moreover, some businesses do not hide their annoyance at seeing us show up to ask them questions, like one of the bakers who told us: “You have to make an appointment.”
The next time.