Imagine the scene: you climb a flight Paris-Nice, you slide your cabin baggage in the compartment above your seat … And there, you find that your neighbor for the next two hours is called Jean-Jacques Goldman. Or better: Thomas Pesquet. No, this is not the scenario of a somewhat barred French comedy, but a question asked by the Vueling airline to a panel of 1,000 French. With what celebrity would you like to share a flight? The answer, not surprisingly, speaks volumes about our fascination for personalities … and our desires for escape.
At the head of the cabin: Thomas Pesquet, the favorite astronaut of the French
First of the top? Thomas Pesquetthe Frenchie amazement which has become the cool icon of the space conquest. 22.8 % of respondents would dream of sharing the armrest with him. It is not surprising: between her weightless videos and her Olympian calm, Pesquet ticks all of the neighbor’s flight boxes. Whoever does not speak too hard, who reads exciting books and who can tell you how we drink coffee in space.
Just behind him, Jean-Jacques Goldman (22.4 %), the most discreet star in France, confirms his intergenerational darling status. We can imagine it, helmet on your ears, sweet look, ready to speak music or stretch a compote. And on the third step: Virginie Efira (20.1 %), which seduces with its heat, its humor and this small supplement of soul which makes it as bright as the projectors of the palace.
Cannes, Tiktok and Nostalgia: each his star
But this ranking is not frozen: depending on your age, your desires change. On the Gen Z side, no surprise: it is the stars of the screens (small or very small) that dominate. Adèle Exarchopoulos, Jonathan Cohen, Léna situations… Modern, funny figures, without filter, halfway between the Cannes red carpets and the Insta stories.
Among the older ones, on the other hand, we prefer familiar faces. Sophie Marceau Make the hearts have melted for the years the boom, and Goldman returns like a reassuring mantra. As for Florence Foresti, She embodies this mix of laughter and outspokenness that we love to listen to, especially stuck between two rows.
Why do we dream of chatting with a celebrity at 10,000 meters above sea level
What this survey says, basically is that we all want a little magic in our daily lives. Traveling is already getting out of the routine. But adding a star is like boarding a film. A flight with Pesquet is going a little in space. A flight with Goldman is a lesson in life. And with Lena? Perhaps a digital storytelling crash, or the address of a very good restaurant in Los Angeles.
So no, you will probably not meet these celebrities aboard your next flight. But this little collective fiction tells us something: we need to admire, dream, and to believe that even between two meal trays, an unexpected moment can arise.
