Cloé Bailly
Home Series are conversations with friends about parenthood, work-life balance and treasured items.
In Paris’ 20th arrondissement, fiction and commercial director Cloé Bailly lives with her partner, Etienne, their almost three-year-old daughter Mona, and their dachshund, Norbert.
MT You live in Paris with your partner and child. What's it like raising a family there?
CB Paris isn’t the best city for kids, mostly because it’s quite vertical and packed, and there aren’t that many green spaces. Also, kids aren’t as culturally accepted as they are in other countries. For instance, I’ve never felt like I was bothering anyone when I walk into an Italian or Spanish restaurant with my daughter, but in France, you always get an annoyed look (both from owners and clients, alas!).
That being said, I’ve learned to manoeuvre in Paris with a kid and have found my go-tos; there are great playgrounds everywhere, libraries (free!), carousels, theatre and puppet shows… But the very best thing as a parent, I think, is having a great community. There’s nothing like hanging out with other parents while the kids are playing together. Paris isn’t a big city, and with a bike you can get anywhere in less than 20 minutes, which is amazing. Our weekends are mostly about that, biking from friend to friend.
MT You work as a fiction and commercial director. What does your day-to-day look like?
CB It really depends on whether I’m shooting or not. When I am, my days are completely packed, and I’m out and about, prepping at the production company’s office, having meetings, scouting, then shooting (rarely in France), and finally post-producing for a while.
When I’m not shooting, I’m mostly writing (right now, my first feature film). I work from home, cafés, or my office, depending on the mood. Writing periods are more chill than shooting periods, and I can spend more time with Mona because she’s not in school yet. I like to take my time with her in the morning and pick her up earlier when I can.
My work life is very schizophrenic, either very busy or very peaceful. Adjusting to that has taken a while, but now I love it. That way, I’m never bored, and I find the professional and personal life quite well balanced.
MT You’re currently finishing your first feature film script. What’s it about, and how do you know when an idea has real potential?
CB It’s a satirical comedy about surrogacy, which is still illegal here in France, produced by Thierry de Clermont-Tonnerre.
If an idea sticks with me like glue, when it starts living with me every day and wakes me up at night, it probably means there’s something there. But I still need to test it to be sure it’s not just a good idea. The process can last a while until I’m certain.
When it comes to screenwriting, I need to make sure there’s a story in the idea, that it’s not just a good concept. Is there a beginning, a middle, and an end? How does the idea work when it’s fully developed? And if there is a story there, does it resonate with me? Do I feel like I can say what I want to say through it?
Cloé working on her first feature film script in the family dining space
MT Has becoming a mother shifted the way you think about your work?
CB It has definitely shifted my relationship to work, but in a positive way. I used to build my identity in my job, defining myself as an ambitious, work-driven director. I think it was great at the time because it allowed me to move forward, to be driven, but it was definitely neurotic.
Motherhood has made me more balanced. I’ve stopped looking for a hypothetical something, and I’m way more in the present moment. I didn’t drastically change, and I still have a great appetite for work. I’m still very much a what’s happening next kind of person. But priorities have changed, I’m way less narcissistic (let’s be honest), and what matters most is 100000% being with my family.
I’m also more honest with myself at work, not accepting bullshit the way I used to. Way more straight to the point.
MT What does the balancing act of work and family feel like for you?
CB It came quite naturally. At first, I was a bit nervous about it. We don’t have a lot of help; my mom lives in the South of France, and we’re both very busy (Etienne owns Recherche & Développement, a music label). When I go on shoots, I sometimes leave for two weeks abroad. But we found our pace and, as I mentioned, I have many periods during the year when I’m mostly chill, writing, and spending a lot of time with Mona.
Etienne actually loves it when I’m away shooting because he gets special dad-daughter time. Of course, it takes a bit of organisation, but it works for now, with just one child.
MT What’s most important to you in how you’re raising Mona, and do you bring her into your creative world at all?
CB My biggest red flag is not passing on some family baggage. I’m very cautious about not perpetuating certain patterns. I think what matters most for us is for Mona to be a good-hearted person, kind and honest. As simple as that. We try to welcome her as she is without projecting too much, without expecting her to be this or that.
I haven’t brought her on set yet, although she had a cameo in a TV series I directed when she was five months old. She did come to the edit of another TV series recently and loved the stolen screen time, of course. But I tell her frequently that I love my job and I’m very excited about bringing her along in the future.
Mona's room created by Cloé
MT You've lived in the 20th arrondissement of Paris for the past three years. How has it felt settling into the neighbourhood as a family?
CS We moved here just before Mona was born. I’m in love with the neighbourhood called Quartier de la Réunion, right behind Père Lachaise. It has a village-y vibe, which I love, since I’ve spent my entire childhood in a little village. It’s quiet, not gentrified yet, but there are great local shops. It’s also one of the greenest arrondissements in Paris, which is amazing with a child; there’s a little park or a playground at every corner.
MT How did you approach making the new place feel like home?
CB It came step by step. I’m quite obsessional, so it works in spurts. I’ll look for furniture or decoration for a few weeks and then stop for months. Etienne and I procrastinate quite a lot when it comes to this (and fixing stuff around the house), so we’re making our flat nicer and nicer over the years!
But I have to say that we felt at home instantly even before the renovation. It’s always felt very much like us, and it’s always had a joyful vibe.
MT And Mona’s space, what did you want it to feel like for her?
CB Again, it came little by little. But the most important thing was that her room felt cosy, personal, and fun.
MT Is there a project you're especially proud of in your career?
CB Honestly, I’m quite proud of the whole thing, the whole process. I come from a modest background; no one in my family has been remotely working in the arts, and I feel like I’ve come a long way already. Of course, I want to keep going, and I’m still very far from my dream objectives, but I try to be gentle with myself.
MT
What's a dream you're holding for your family right now?
CB Just for life to keep going the way it is.
Published June 2026
Photography: Emma Le Doyen
© Minor Things
