More and more Americans are choosing to live in France 🇫🇷
From lifestyle and culture to food and work-life balance, what makes France so appealing? In this video, we explore the reasons behind this growing trend and what life here is really like.
#france #lifeinfrance #expatlife #americansinfrance #frenchculture #parislife #movingabroad #lifestyle #culturaldifferences #francevlog #shorts
From lifestyle and culture to food and work-life balance, what makes France so appealing? In this video, we explore the reasons behind this growing trend and what life here is really like.
#france #lifeinfrance #expatlife #americansinfrance #frenchculture #parislife #movingabroad #lifestyle #culturaldifferences #francevlog #shorts
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Why are there so many celebrities moving to France right now?
00:03I'm French and I live in Paris,
00:04and recently I've been noticing a trend of famous people leaving the US and moving to France.
00:10And when they are asked why, they all give the same reason,
00:13which I don't think is the whole truth, let me explain.
00:16So I first became aware of this trend in my last video on the topic,
00:20which is where I learned that George Clooney became French and permanently moved to France.
00:24So I decided to investigate,
00:25and I found out that the Clooney family bought a chateau in Provence.
00:29And not just any chateau, this is the Domaine Le Canadelle in Brignol,
00:33which is valued at 8 million euros.
00:35It is an 18th century mansion with a lot of different rooms and a giant vineyard.
00:40And apparently the Clooneys are not planning to make their own wine,
00:43unlike nearby Chateau Miraval,
00:45which is a wine estate that has been valued at 164 million dollars,
00:50that was owned by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie,
00:53and that has been at the center of their divorce in what gossip newspapers call
00:57The War of the Rosé, which I find to be quite a funny expression.
01:00Back on the topic of why the Clooneys moved to France.
01:04So if you read George Clooney's interviews on the topic,
01:07it's mostly because of our culture of privacy.
01:09And he says,
01:10I was worried about raising our kids in LA in the culture of Hollywood.
01:14It felt like they were never going to get a first shake at life.
01:17In France, they kind of don't care about fame.
01:20And then he continues and he says,
01:22I don't want them to be walking around worried about paparazzi.
01:25And I want to unpack that because it is true that in France,
01:28we do have great privacy laws,
01:30even though, as you'll see after, there's more to the story.
01:32So you have to know that in France,
01:34it is illegal to take a photo or a video of someone in a private place,
01:37like their home or garden.
01:39And it is also illegal to publish photos of celebrities in public places,
01:42unless, you know, their appearance is linked to their job.
01:45Like for example, if they're attending a premiere, that's obviously okay.
01:48And by the way, quick tip, this works as well for normal people.
01:51So if you're coming to Paris,
01:52please do not take photos of people without their consent.
01:55It's like a big no-no in France.
01:57Also, these laws became stricter after Princess Diana's death.
02:00And now famous people will regularly win lawsuits against the press.
02:04Kate Middleton in particular is known to re-protect the private life of her children.
02:08And she has sued the press and won several times.
02:10The most recent one being this one,
02:12where a French gossip newspaper took photos of her children on a ski vacation.
02:16And I have to say that as a French person,
02:18I do respect that culture of privacy.
02:20So that's why I'll only show you info that the celebrities in this video shared willingly.
02:24And it's not just the law.
02:25We also have a culture of not bothering people,
02:28especially in big cities like Paris.
02:30And to tell you more about this,
02:31we have to take a look at Natalie Portman's move to Paris.
02:34So this is not a recent one.
02:35She moved to Paris around 10 years ago,
02:37because her husband at the time was French.
02:39But she recently was in the news,
02:41because she bought a mansion in the Eiffel Tower neighborhood.
02:43And you know that I love architecture,
02:45so I'm going to show you a few photos.
02:46This used to be an embassy.
02:48It is an absolutely gorgeous building.
02:50And for around 15 million euros,
02:52she has a very nice view of her Champs de Mars,
02:54which are the gardens near the Eiffel Tower.
02:56And I've talked about her in a past video,
02:58but she has three interesting cultural observations about France.
03:01And she says in a French interview that
03:03Paris is the easiest place to live when you're a celebrity,
03:06because Parisians are respectful of your private life
03:08and just kind of leave you alone.
03:10And she also says,
03:11and I find that pretty funny,
03:12that most of the people who come up to her in the street
03:15are tourists and not Parisians.
03:17In my personal experience,
03:18this is 100% true.
03:19In Paris, just like in other big cities,
03:22you see celebrities all the time.
03:23And after a while, you're kind of just used to it.
03:25And my personal rule is that
03:27if I see a celebrity
03:28and I don't have anything meaningful to say to them,
03:30then I'm not going to bother them.
03:32And I think most people agree with me.
03:33A while back,
03:34I was a plus one at an apartment party
03:36with several very famous A-listers,
03:38including someone who won an Oscar.
03:40And obviously that is not my usual type of party.
03:43That was like my one and only time
03:45being at that type of parties.
03:46But I have to say that
03:47it really felt like a normal apartment party
03:49and no one who had no reason to spoke to them
03:51bothered them
03:52and no single person asked for a photo.
03:54Also in France, we're a more egalitarian society.
03:57So in general,
03:58it is important to not stand out too much,
04:01even for celebrities.
04:02And often Natalie Portman talks about this
04:04and says that the highest compliment
04:06someone can give her
04:07is that she's very discreet.
04:09I've talked about it before on the channel,
04:10but in France,
04:11obvious displays of wealth,
04:13like for example, supercars,
04:14are not seen as very tasteful.
04:16And people instead try to focus on this idea
04:18of being discreet
04:19and less obvious displays of wealth.
04:22And another way we tend to be more discreet in France
04:24is through beauty standards.
04:26For example,
04:27there's this idea that you should find
04:29what works best for you
04:30to highlight your natural features
04:31instead of keeping up with the trends
04:33if they don't work for you.
04:35I personally really like French skincare
04:37for that reason
04:37and in particular,
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04:42and all their products are made in France
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04:45I've been using their product
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04:53that still gives you a bit of an extra boost.
04:55I love their tinted concealer
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04:58and that has been amazing
05:00for the dark circles under my eyes.
05:02I also have their tinted serum
05:04which feels super light
05:05and has vitamin C for a glowy effect.
05:08Recently,
05:08I've also been trying their tinted lip balm
05:11which I'm wearing right now
05:12and it hydrates your lips
05:14and colors them in a very discreet way.
05:16At the moment,
05:16they are offering a free radiance mask
05:19with every purchase over $50.
05:21So it is the perfect time
05:22to try high quality French skincare.
05:25But there are other reasons
05:26why celebrities are moving to France.
05:28The first one being a bit obvious
05:30when you think about it
05:31and the other one,
05:32well,
05:32I don't think a lot of people
05:33are talking about it.
05:34So as you know,
05:35I have a video series
05:36where I react to celebrities
05:38speaking French
05:38and lately,
05:39I have to tell you,
05:40I have almost too much content.
05:42It seems that every celebrity I like
05:44is either promoting a movie in France,
05:46acting in French
05:47or saying they're gonna move to France.
05:49And you know,
05:50don't get me wrong,
05:51I love that people are interested in my culture,
05:53but I kind of want to understand why
05:55and also why now?
05:56And it turns out,
05:57I'm not the only one noticing that
05:59because there has been a series of articles
06:01on the topic,
06:02including this one called
06:03Why Hollywood Stores Are Fleeing to France.
06:06And it turns out
06:07that our movie industry
06:08is kind of having a moment
06:10and attracting a lot of big names.
06:12As you probably know,
06:13recently Hollywood has been through a lot.
06:15There has been the writer's strikes,
06:17the studio mergers
06:18and the production slowdowns,
06:20which means that LA is becoming
06:21less and less attractive for some actors,
06:24like Aaron Paul,
06:25who decided to move to Paris
06:26after the LA fires last summer.
06:28And it seems that in comparison of all that,
06:30France is becoming an attractive alternative,
06:33especially since we already have
06:34a strong movie industry
06:35with trained crews
06:36that are used to working
06:37on international productions.
06:39And also,
06:40it doesn't hurt that our government
06:41is attracting international productions
06:43with generous tax breaks,
06:45which means that production costs
06:47end up being way cheaper
06:48than in Hollywood.
06:49So this is probably why you've noticed
06:51that so many TV shows and movies
06:52are filmed in France recently,
06:54and even some major American productions
06:56were moved to France
06:57after the Hollywood strikes,
06:59like the movie Head of States,
07:00where they were able to recreate
07:01pretty much every single country in the movie,
07:04only in the south of France.
07:05Also, the one I'm really excited about
07:07is the new season of White Lotus,
07:09which is gonna be in Saint-Tropez,
07:11and I can't wait to see
07:12who the French actors are.
07:14So yeah,
07:14this is one of the reasons
07:15why you see movie stars relocating to France,
07:17at least for a few months,
07:19and then coming back
07:20and promoting the movies they've shot.
07:21But another thing I find interesting
07:23is that our smaller independent cinema
07:25is attracting big names,
07:27like Angelina Jolie,
07:28who recently starred in Couture,
07:30which is a French-American
07:31fashion industry cancer drama.
07:33And by the way,
07:34she's also reportedly planning
07:36to move to France.
07:37I found out about that
07:38in this article from Le Monde,
07:39where they interview Olivier Assayas,
07:41who is the French director
07:43that made the movie
07:43The Wizard of the Kremlin,
07:45which is a movie where Jude Law,
07:47who by the way,
07:47also has a house in France,
07:49plays Vladimir Putin,
07:51which, you know,
07:51is quite a change from seeing him
07:53in the rom-coms I love,
07:54if you ask me.
07:55Anyway, Olivier Assayas says
07:56that independent European cinema
07:58is currently attracting
08:00a lot of American actors
08:01who want to enjoy more freedom
08:03in smaller productions
08:04and are tired of just acting
08:05in front of a green screen
08:07and starring in mega franchises.
08:09And an example of that
08:10is the work of French director
08:12Rebecca Zlotowski,
08:13who has a history of casting people
08:15she knows to love France
08:16in her movies.
08:18Like recently,
08:18she made A Private Life
08:19with Jodie Foster,
08:20who acts fully in French,
08:22but she also made Planetarium
08:23with Natalie Portman
08:24and Lily Rose Depp,
08:26who is the daughter
08:26of French actress
08:27Vanessa Paradis
08:28and Johnny Depp.
08:29And all of this
08:30also tends to attract
08:31American directors,
08:32like Wes Anderson,
08:34for example,
08:34who has been living
08:35in France for a while,
08:36or Jim Jarmusch,
08:37who recently applied
08:38for French citizenship,
08:40and who says,
08:41my next films
08:42will all be shot in France.
08:43Shooting in the US
08:44is prohibitive.
08:45It's stressful.
08:46It's traumatizing.
08:47And if you've watched
08:48this video I made,
08:49you know that coming to France
08:50to live a more free
08:52and creative life
08:52is not a new trend.
08:54We've always had famous people
08:55like Hemingway,
08:56Josephine Baker,
08:57and James Baldwin
08:58come and live in Paris.
09:00And there's kind of a certain
09:01romantic idea of Paris
09:02in particular
09:03that's associated with artists,
09:05writer,
09:06and high culture in general
09:07that has been attracting people
09:08to France for centuries.
09:10And if you've seen the movie
09:11Midnight in Paris,
09:12it's exactly this idealized,
09:14artsy version of France
09:15I'm talking about.
09:16And listen,
09:17I have no doubt
09:17that our culture
09:18and our movie industry
09:19are a big part
09:20of why celebrities
09:21are moving to France.
09:22But I think there's also
09:23something else
09:24people are not talking about
09:25in official interviews.
09:27So while I was researching
09:28this video,
09:29I looked at a lot of
09:30AD home tours.
09:31And I couldn't help
09:32but grow a little bit suspicious.
09:34And not because these are staged,
09:36I already know that
09:37and that's not what
09:38I'm gonna tell you about.
09:39So one tour in particular
09:41that caught my eye
09:42is Lenny Kravitz's
09:43incredible mansion in Paris.
09:45It's in a palace
09:46that used to belong
09:47to a countess
09:47and it is incredibly
09:49well decorated,
09:50which makes sense
09:51given that he has
09:51an interior design studio.
09:53And one thing I noticed
09:54is that this palace
09:55that I could only dream about
09:57is described in an AD article
09:59as a crash pad.
10:01And they also say
10:01that he has a compound
10:02in the Bahamas
10:03and a ranch in Brazil.
10:04And here my suspicions
10:06were kind of confirmed
10:07by Johnny Depp's story.
10:08So as you probably know,
10:09he was with a French woman,
10:10Vanessa Paradis,
10:11for a really long time.
10:13And he has been very vocal
10:14about how much
10:15he loves Europe
10:15and he loves France.
10:16And he even bought
10:17a full village
10:18in the south of France
10:19where you can stay
10:20in different rooms
10:21that are the different
10:21buildings of the village.
10:23Like you can sleep
10:23in a church
10:24or in a cafe,
10:25which I have to admit
10:26is pretty cool.
10:27And many years ago,
10:28he was interviewed
10:28about his love of Europe
10:30by the Guardian.
10:31And at this point,
10:31I think the interviewer
10:32and most of us,
10:34I'd say,
10:34thought he was living in Europe.
10:35So there's kind of an awkward moment
10:37where the interviewer
10:38kind of asks him
10:39if he would ever consider
10:40living in the US again.
10:42And his answer is,
10:43and I quote,
10:44well,
10:44I kind of do.
10:45I'm between whenever I end up
10:46on location
10:47and then the States.
10:48And here I love this article
10:49because the interviewer writes,
10:51what?
10:51Hang on a minute.
10:52Why did he leave France?
10:54He makes a sore noise.
10:55Part grunt,
10:56part harumph.
10:57And then this is Johnny Depp's answer,
10:58because France wanted a piece of me.
11:00They wanted me to become
11:01a permanent resident.
11:02Permanent residency status,
11:04which changes everything.
11:05And he mimes
11:06peeling off notes in his palm.
11:08D'oh.
11:08Money.
11:09This is a very funny interview
11:10because Johnny Depp
11:11speaks very candidly
11:12about not wanting
11:13to pay taxes in France.
11:15Like he likes France enough
11:16to buy a village,
11:17but not enough
11:17to become a permanent resident.
11:19And I like that
11:19the interviewer pushes back
11:21and mentions that
11:22the taxes are kind of the thing
11:23that are funding
11:24what Johnny Depp likes
11:26about our country,
11:27like the culture
11:27or the safety.
11:29And here I am not dunking
11:30on Johnny Depp in particular.
11:32Like he's the only one
11:33saying openly
11:33that he doesn't want
11:34to become a permanent resident.
11:36But I'm sure pretty much
11:37everyone in this video
11:38does the same.
11:38Although I can't
11:39obviously know for sure.
11:40In any case,
11:41AD makes the job easier for us
11:43because they have
11:43all of these roundup articles
11:45of celebrities' homes,
11:46which I have to admit
11:47I enjoy looking at.
11:48So my point here
11:49is that celebrities
11:50don't move somewhere
11:50like a normal person would do.
11:52They just maintain houses
11:54around the world
11:54for different reasons.
11:56Like maybe they're an investment,
11:57maybe they're a status symbol,
11:59maybe they're a project
12:00that gives them
12:00some kind of cultural prestige,
12:02like buying a vineyard.
12:03And at the moment,
12:04it seems that France
12:05fits particularly well
12:07into the celebrity circuit.
12:08For example,
12:09it is not a coincidence
12:10that all the farmhouses,
12:12chateaus,
12:13and villages
12:13I mentioned in this video
12:14are all in the same region
12:16of Provence,
12:17which is only a short helicopter
12:18right away from Cannes,
12:20Saint-Tropez,
12:21and Monaco.
12:21Which means that they can be secluded,
12:23but that they're still
12:24perfectly positioned
12:25for the type of social calendar
12:27a celebrity would maintain.
12:28So no celebrities
12:29are not exactly fleeing the US
12:31to escape to France permanently
12:33like some headlines make it seem,
12:35they're just adding
12:35another location to their list.
12:37And that's all for me today.
12:39If you enjoyed this video,
12:40go check out the ones
12:41that are on screen right now.
12:42I'll see you there.
12:43Bye for now.
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