Last year, Netflix struck a blow with the launch of Lupine, a French series starring Omar Sy which brings the famous Arsène Lupin up to date. Success quickly followed, in France but also everywhere else. So much so that the town of Étretat in Normandy, emblematic for lovers of the gentleman-burglar, is taken by storm by many tourists. Too many tourists.

The Downsides of Lupin’s Success

With Lupine, Netflix has breathed new life into the adventures of the gentleman burglar and boosted sales of Maurice Leblanc’s novels. An important city in the series, Étretat is taken over by fans. This town in Normandy is also home to Clos Lupin. This museum dedicated to the hero was also the former residence of its creator. All the reasons are therefore good to rush to Normandy.

But the enthusiasm for Étretat by fans of Lupine is excessive. Despite the pandemic and many months of forced closure, Clos Lupine has recorded a 300% increase in turnover since the release of the series. The number of visits has increased tenfold… To the chagrin of its director, Marylise Alix. The latter regrets that tourists have more interest in the series than in the work of Maurice Leblanc itself.

In addition to the museum, it is indeed the whole city of Étretat which is taken by storm by fans of the series with Omar Sy. For lack of spaces for everyone to park, visitors, from France and elsewhere, even try to park near private properties. This has the gift of greatly annoying the inhabitants. Shops, meanwhile, are not spared and are victims of unprecedented overcrowding. Many traffic jams are also daily in the narrow streets of the city.

The mayor of Étretat would like to make “demarketing”. A completely absurd request but which seems necessary. In his view, visitors should be regulated and reasoned tourism should be practiced. The small town has, however, always enjoyed a certain reputation. Its seaside resort and famous cliffs have attracted more than one celebrity. Guy de Maupassant, Claude Monet or even Gustave Flaubert have visited it. So much so that we have been talking about mass tourism in Étretat for several decades. But the “madness Lupine” seems to be the last straw, pushing residents to move outright.

The problem is that it may not work out. Indeed, Netflix is ​​currently preparing the third part of Lupine which should, it seems, land on the platform by the end of the year.