PARIS (AP) 鈥 The immense success of the Netflix series 鈥淓mily in Paris鈥 has transformed a quiet, untouched square in the French capital into a tourist magnet.
In the historic Latin Quarter and just a short walk from the magnificent, domed Pantheon, tucked so deeply away that you could easily miss it, lies the Place de l'Estrapade. For diehard, beret-wearing fans of the show, this sliver of a neighborhood has become a landmark of its own.
That's because this is where the fictional character Emily Cooper, , lives, dines and savors French pastries from the local bakery.
The newfound attention can be disruptive for the real people who live and work here, but the show is also igniting a new passion for Paris 鈥 and even anti-Emily graffiti has become part of the attraction.
The romantic comedy, whose third season was released in December, traces Emily's adventures and misadventures in her Parisian career and love life.
On a sunny weekday, the square bustles with tourists from the U.S. and far beyond, taking photos, video and selfies.
It鈥檚 all here: Emily鈥檚 apartment building at 1 Place de d'Estrapade, where she lives next to would-be love interest Gabriel. The restaurant where Gabriel 鈥 portrayed by French actor Lucas Bravo 鈥 is the chef. And, of course, the bakery she loves.
Dancer Riskya Octaviana from Jakarta, Indonesia, came directly to Paris after performing in Germany because of how much she loves the show. After twirling on the square, Emily-style, she said, 鈥淓mily is my big friend.鈥
Elizabeth and Ruben Mercado celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in Paris and visited Emily鈥檚 neighborhood as part of their trip. Elizabeth Mercado said she prepared by binge-watching the show just before they left.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been trying to practice the small bits of French that we picked up during the show,'' she said.
Tourists make a point of stopping and snacking at Boulangerie Moderne, the Modern Bakery featured in the series. The tourist infusion has boosted profits, acknowledges owner Thierry Rabineau.
But the flipside to fame has come in online comments. Some people, many posting anonymously, have slammed the quality of his bakery. Rabineau thinks the show has mistakenly given viewers the impression that he鈥檚 running a luxury pastry shop instead of a standard local bakery selling croissants at 1.30 euros ($1.43) each.
鈥淧eople are writing comments, saying it鈥檚 overpriced, it鈥檚 not good. It鈥檚 disgusting. This baffles me,鈥 Rabineau said. 鈥淚t's a modern bakery, a small neighborhood bakery.鈥
He's aware how lucky he is that the show came along. "We are profiting from a current situation. ... But in two or three years, there won鈥檛 be any more tourism and we will have to be here to survive,鈥 he said.
Stephanie Jamin, who lives on the square and crosses paths with the throngs of tourists on a daily basis, has had to adjust to residing in a go-to place on the tourist map. She says the people themselves aren鈥檛 a nuisance, but the crowds can be imposing.
鈥淲e have become an ultra-touristy district, whereas it was a small square still a bit preserved from tourism," she said.
Another resident emerging from Emily's apartment building said they were allergic to the show. 鈥淓mily Not Welcome鈥 is even scrawled in red graffiti on part of the facade.
But the graffiti, too, is drawing fans, with visitors taking pictures of themselves pointing to the disparaging remark. Among them was Abdullah Najarri, a medical internist from Berlin who calls the series "entertaining.鈥
"I got to see a lot of Paris through that series, actually, and the lifestyle and and the clich茅s 鈥 partly true, partly not, so that it鈥檚 nice,鈥 he said.
Croatian digital creator Sladana Grzincic, touring Paris wearing a white beret, sunglasses and a striped blue and white sweater, was photographed taking a jump and a twirl in front of Emily鈥檚 apartment.
Seeing the real neighborhood makes her eager for the next season, which she said she will watch 鈥渁 bit differently because I was here and on the same spots where she鈥檚 filming that.鈥
Season four is in the works, but the release date remains unknown.
Resident Jamin remains philosophical about the fascination with her neighborhood.
鈥淚t is as ephemeral as the series is,鈥 she said. After the Emily frenzy subsides, 鈥渢here are people like all the shopkeepers of the district who will have benefited enormously from it, and it allowed them to start up again after COVID. They needed that.鈥
鈥淭here will inevitably be an end. Emily is not Victor Hugo. She will not be inducted into the Pantheon,鈥 Jamin said. "She will go home and everything will be fine.鈥
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