Brigitte Macron has a cameo role in the Netflix series “Emily in Paris”

France’s First Lady Brigitte Macron made a cameo appearance in the latest episode of the hit series “Emily in Paris”.

President Emmanuel Macron's wife appears in the second part of the fourth season of the comedy, which airs on Netflix on Thursday.

The series focuses on Chicagoan Emily Cooper, played by British-American star Lily Collins, who moves to the French capital. The series has won fans but has also drawn criticism for painting a stereotypical picture of Paris.

But 71-year-old Ms Macron vehemently supported the film, playing herself in a brief scene in which she poses for a selfie with Emily in a restaurant.

Collins says the idea for the cameo, first reported by Elle magazine this week, came about when she and the show's creator, Darren Star, met Ms. Macron at the Élysée Palace in December 2022.

The First Lady is mentioned in the first season of the series when she shares Emily's Instagram post expressing her disappointment that the French word for vagina, “le vagin,” is masculine.

“She's a huge fan of the show and took the mention of her in the first season with a lot of humor,” Collins told Elle.

“That scene in season four is a wink, and filming with her was both an honor and a true joy.”

Star described Ms Macron as having “great talent” in assessing her performance.

In the scene, Emily (Collins) approaches Mrs. Macron as she sits in a restaurant with two other women.

The First Lady waves off her security guard as Emily explains that she is the person behind the Instagram account “Emily in Paris.”

After a brief exchange, Emily takes a selfie with Mrs Macron and posts it on Instagram. The post includes the hashtag #makeiticonic, a slogan from President Macron's efforts to attract foreign investors to France.

Netflix confirmed to AFP that the First Lady wore her own clothes, “without being given any specific instructions” by the series known for its fashion.

Collins was quoted as saying that Mrs Macron “actually asked us” to appear on the show, “which was crazy”.

But the Élysée reportedly told French media that the request actually came from the show's producers.

Mrs Macron has some background in theatre. That was the subject she was teaching at a secondary school when she met the future French president, a classmate, in 1993. He was 15 at the time. They married 14 years later.

She also appeared briefly in the show Vestiaires, a French comedy series about two disabled swimmers, in 2018. Earlier this year, a French production company announced that she to create a six-part series about her life.

First broadcast in 2020, “Emily in Paris” received criticism for its imaginative portrayal of city life, from the beret-wearing bon vivant lifestyle to sanitized, Instagrammable scenes, while avoiding themes such as garbage, crime and social conflict.

Star defended the show, saying it was intended as a “love letter to Paris” seen from Emily's perspective.

“The first thing she sees are the clichés because it's her point of view,” he explained in 2020. “I wanted to do a show that celebrates this part of Paris.”

The latest series has drawn some scathing reviews, with the telegraph complained about “even more boredom” and “terrible outfits”, but Collider applauded a “stunning finale” after a “chaotic second act”.