Emily in Paris In “The 40 Years of Love,” a young woman named Emily (played by Lily Collins), an advertising executive from Chicago, gets the chance to move her boss to Paris when she becomes pregnant. There, Emily works in social media for Savoir, a French advertising agency that works with luxury brands. But she soon has to deal with the culture shock of living between Chicago and Paris.
In focus Emily in Paris plays on the escapist fantasy of what it must be like for an American to experience a famous European city for the first time. However, this raises the question of how much of the series is really fantasy. The Paris depicted in the series can be very different from the real city. However, over the course of the series’ seasons, there have been attempts to paint a more nuanced picture between fact and fiction.
8 Not everyone in Paris speaks perfect English
Emily arrives in Paris without knowing much French. Although it seems surprising that she was chosen to work in a country whose language she doesn’t speak, it is implied that it was a last-minute decision to compensate for the pregnancy of Emily’s boss Madeline. Fortunately for Emily, virtually everyone she meets in Paris can and wants to speak perfect English. Only Patricia seems unable to understand her.
Do you speak French?
Admittedly, Parisians are heavily exposed to tourists so their English is probably better than in other parts of France to accommodate English-speaking visitors. This is obviously done for the English-speaking viewers of the show as well.
Still, it’s hard to believe that Savoir’s team constantly speaks English to accommodate a person, especially in meetings. Even random people Emily encounters speak conversational English without much thought and even have a good understanding of the grammar.
7 Parisians sometimes work long hours
Emily arrives at the office at 8:30 a.m. and learns that it doesn’t open until two hours later. This is probably a reference to the fact that the French, on average, work fewer hours than Americans, namely 35 hours per week instead of 40.
Of course, everything depends on the place of work
In real life, however, there are some limitations. French workers, especially part-timers and freelancers, can still be asked to work more than 35 hours. Managers are also expected to work longer than the set time. In other words, there will inevitably be people working outside of working hours. Ultimately, employees’ actual working hours will likely depend on what type of employer they work for.
6 The show barely mentions the Paris Metro
Throughout the series, Emily is more likely to be on foot, often walking to and from work, reflecting the idea that people in Paris are more likely to walk than those in the suburbs. She occasionally uses taxis, cars, or even motorbikes. In real life, however, Parisians are more likely to use public transportation.
Emily should give the Metro a second chance
The Paris Metro is one of the busiest subway systems in Europe, surpassed only by the Moscow Metro, and is considered one of the busiest in the world. To the show’s credit, the Paris Metro does appear in dialogue, suggesting that the characters may use it off-screen as well. Emily herself mentions getting lost on the Metro at one point, suggesting that she’s too scared to use it again. On the other hand, someone who constantly walks around Paris in high heels might consider giving the Metro a second chance.
5 Emily’s apartment is not exactly a “Chambre De Bonne”
Emily’s new apartment in Paris is described early on as a “chambre de bonne”. These are one-room apartments that were once intended for servants. The term means something like “maid’s room”. However, Emily’s apartment is quite large and spacious by Parisian standards, with a spacious kitchen and large windows.
It is also about the costs
Another problem is how Emily can afford such a nice apartment. Initially, the apartment seems to be rented by the company she works for, which provides a possible explanation for how Emily can afford her nice clothes. However, this becomes a problem in the third season, where Emily quits her job.
4 Fast food is not that unusual
When Emily gets a little homesick, she is invited to lunch at Ralph Lauren’s restaurant, where she sees another cheeseburger. Emily is so happy to see the familiar deliciousness that she takes a photo of another customer’s cheeseburger, only to post it on social media, complete with the hashtag “#cheeseburgerinparadise.”
McDonald’s finally appears
Realistically, there are plenty of restaurants in France that sell burgers. Even if upscale restaurants offer something other than the American version, there are still plenty of fast food restaurants in Paris that can cater to someone craving a burger. Interestingly, McDonald’s appears in the show in season three, and Emily tries to recruit their customers to promote the McBaguette in France. Emily is even invited by Gabriel to visit a French McDonald’s.
3 Paris is not always clean and sunny
Emily in Paris plays up Paris and a sunny, vibrant city. In many ways, it plays up the fantasy of a beautiful city where dreams come true. More specifically, the city is always portrayed as clean, aside from Emily occasionally stepping in dog poop. Even trash cans are rarely seen.
With great tourism comes great responsibility
Paris is a popular tourist destination, so it’s only natural that in a place with a lot of people there are also dirtier areas. This is true of any popular city, which means there is plenty of poverty and garbage. However, there are also service workers who regularly clean the city. At one point, a motorized task force was even organized to pick up dog poop on motorcycles. Nevertheless, the series makes an incredibly clean Paris seem almost a given.
2 Not everyone in Paris is interested in fashion
The series portrays Paris as a city of the elite, where everyone dresses to their finest and enjoys luxuries like champagne. Most characters wear elaborate, expensive clothing, even those they couldn’t realistically afford. Even Emily seems to accept this as part of her character, walking around Paris in stilettos, which is all the more surprising considering how much of the series she does on foot.
Admittedly, it depends on time and place
Like everywhere else, Paris has its good and its bad, and there are poor neighborhoods as well as wealthier ones. Although many upscale areas have a dress code, it is considered perfectly normal to wear jeans and sneakers on the streets of Paris. In fact, on some of the cobbled streets of Paris, sneakers are better than high heels.
1 The real Paris is much more diverse
At the beginning of the series, there were only two prominent characters of color in the main cast, Julien and Mindy Chen, who was born in Shanghai. They are later joined by Alfie, who becomes a recurring character in the second season and rises to the main character in the third, also becoming Emily’s lover.
Paris is one of the most multicultural cities in Europe
Paris is a very diverse area in real life and is considered one of the most multicultural cities in Europe. In fact, it is believed that around a quarter of the population came to Paris after birth. Notably, Paris has a large North African diaspora, although this is rarely mentioned, such as when Emily and Camille visited a Moroccan hammam or Younes Bouab’s role as Ahmed in Fashion Victim.
All 4 seasons of
Emily in Paris
are currently streaming on Netflix.
