Brigitte Macron appears in Netflix show Emily in Paris cameo role

After a short exchange, Emily takes a selfie with Mrs Macron and posts it to Instagram, with the post including the hashtag #makeiticonic, a slogan from President Macron’s drive to attract foreign investors to France.

Netflix confirmed to AFP that the first lady wore her own clothing “with no particular instructions given to her” by the series known for its fashion.

Collins was quoted as saying Mrs Macron had “actually asked us” to appear in the show, “which was wild”.

But the Élysée has reportedly briefed media outlets in France that the request in fact came from the show’s producers.

Mrs Macron has some background in drama. That was the subject she was teaching at a secondary school when she first met the future French president, a member of the class, in 1993 when he was 15. They married 14 years later.

She also briefly appeared in the show Vestiaires, a French comedy series following two disabled swimmers, in 2018. Earlier this year a French production company announced it was creating a six-part series about her life.

First airing in 2020, Emily in Paris has attracted criticism for its fantastical portrayal of life in the city, from beret-wearing bon vivant lifestyle to sanitised, Instagrammable scenes, while avoiding issues including rubbish, crime and social conflicts.

Star has defended the show, and said it was intended to be a “love letter to Paris”, seen through the eyes of Emily.

“The first thing she is seeing is the clichés because it’s from her point of view,” he explained, speaking in 2020. “I wanted to do a show that celebrated that part of Paris.”

The latest series has attracted some scathing reviews, with the Telegraph, external complaining of “yet more tedium” and “terrible outfits”, but Collider, external applauded a “jaw-dropping finale” after a “chaotic second act”.