Who vs who? France vs Italy

What it’s about: Emily in Paris, the Netflix series about an annoying American woman inhabiting a clichéd simulacrum of the French capital. It has become an enormous global hit, very possibly because it permits non-American and non-French people to sneer loftily at American and French people at the same time. Rumours abound that its titular character might be heading to Rome, and French president Emmanuel Macron, for one, is not having it: “Emily in Paris in Rome,” he has declared, “doesn’t make sense.” Rome’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, responded: “One can’t control the heart: let’s let her choose.” More pointedly, Gualtieri wondered, “Doesn’t President Macron have more pressing matters to worry about?”

What it’s really about: All criticism of Emily in Paris aside, it has been an immense soft-power boon for France. Sales of French brands worn by the characters have spiked. A study by France’s national film centre found that about four per cent of recent visitors to France had been inspired by the show. Four per cent of France’s tourist business is a perfectly reasonable thing for the president to worry about. Even Brigitte Macron is such a fan that she made a cameo appearance during the most recent season.

Likely resolution: Further wrangling over what is clearly a valuable media property, while the producers figure out how to milk this rivalry.