It was thanks to influence that the Chinese discovered the Somme department in France. Her name is Jelly Lin, she is followed by millions of followers and she filmed a video in emblematic places of the Somme, like Amiens Cathedral or the town of Saint-Valery-sur-Somme. A communications operation co-financed by France and Chinawhich generated more than 40 million views in a few days.
The red brick facade of the restaurant Le Dos-d'Âne served as a backdrop for the clip. Isabelle, the manager, does not forget her three hours of filming and hopes for repercussions: “when I saw him arrive and get out of a large vehicle with tinted windowsit's impressive. To see that there are 40 million views is crazy. Do these Chinese tourists coming to Amiens will want to visit the place where she did her filming and where she ate? It’s likely, and I hope so.”
Located about a hundred meters away, Amiens Cathedral is also in the spotlight in the video. For Dominique, it's a pride and “it would be selfish to keep this beauty just for ourselves. This cathedral is magnificent, it brings a lot of peace. Being able to share it with others can only be positive.”
The square of the building is the starting point of the city tourist trainBruno has been driving it for five years and is delighted with the impact of the clip. He confides, emphasizing the positive impact of this operation. “It’s definitely a good thing, 40 million is huge. Now, I don’t think the 40 million will come, but the city deserves it.”
This is a positive point for an often neglected departmentaccording to François, an independent urban planner. “It can only help us. We are stuck between the north, which is more powerful, and the Paris region. We suffered wars, we are not very rich. And if this young woman goes out into the world to talk about the sum, that will be very good.”
The operation would have cost France and China between 100 and 150 thousand euros.
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France