Gerard Larcher visits "Emily in Paris" shoot near the Luxembourg Garden

Paris – 17.07.2026: Senate President Gerard Larcher visited the filming of the sixth season of the Netflix series “Emily in Paris” near the Jardin du Luxembourg on Thursday. According to Franceinfo, he met the production teams of the internationally successful series there. The visit by one of the highest representatives of the French state gives an otherwise cultural appointment an institutional dimension.

Larcher, once again President of the Senate since 2014, represents France’s local authorities as president of the second parliamentary chamber. His appearance on set should therefore be understood less as an intervention in artistic work than as a sign of the political importance of audiovisual productions. International series combine visibility for French locations with contracts for local service providers and employment for film professionals.

For Netflix, the series is a globally successful format. The platform confirmed its continuation with a sixth season in April and included the production in its programming preview for 2026 in May. According to Netflix, the fifth season generated 26.8 million views worldwide in its first eleven days and reached number one in the series charts in 24 countries. France was among those markets.

Filming in Paris therefore also has an economic aspect. Set construction, costumes, technical services, transport, hotels, catering and extras benefit directly from major international productions. At the end of June, extras were publicly sought for a day of filming in Paris. Such productions are also promotional tools for major cities: images of streets, parks, cafes and historic buildings reach audiences far beyond conventional tourism communications.

Political support, however, is not without its ambiguities. “Emily in Paris” uses a stylized portrayal of the capital that gives France strong international recognizability but is regularly criticized domestically as clichéd. Yet this very simplification can increase its promotional value: the series does not sell a socially realistic snapshot, but an aesthetically condensed vision of Paris and the French way of life.

The fact that Brigitte Macron had previously been involved in the orbit of the series had made the connection between entertainment and public representation visible. Larcher’s visit now shifts the emphasis to the institutions of the Republic. This does not give the production any official political mandate. Rather, the episode shows that cultural reach and location policy are increasingly being considered together in France.

Whether the sixth season will actually be the last remained unclear in Netflix’s independently verifiable communications. The streaming service announced further episodes for 2026 without naming a firm release date or an end to the series. What is certain for now is that Paris remains a central setting for a format whose international reach also attracts political attention.