French and tourists seem indifferent to Jolie

"But I think all the French have this attitude, that celebrities' private lives are their own concern, and that celebrities are no better than them," Wilson said. "French people are very proud, especially the women, who are very sexy and confident; they see Angelina Jolie and don't aspire to be her."

No one is more surprised than the Nicois that Jolie and Pitt chose their city — and a regular maternity ward where normal citizens go to have their babies.

When their daughter Shiloh was born in 2006, the couple went all the way to the African nation Namibia, where the government shielded their privacy by requiring journalists seeking to cover the birth to have written permission from the couple to obtain a visa and ringing the couple's luxury hotel with heavy security.

In Southern France, a strong culture of respect for privacy seems to have had nearly the same effect.

"(Celebrities) love Nice because they can be anonymous here, not like Monaco or Cannes. They can go around town and no one tries to approach them. It is very easy for them," said Myriam Chokairy, the international press spokeswoman for the tourism office.

Just last week, Chokairy said her brother ran into Tony Parker and Eva Longoria at their neighborhood pharmacy.

"They were regular customers. No one bothered them," she said.

Jolie and Pitt and their four children — including their adopted children Maddox, 6; Pax, 4; Zahara, 3 — have been settling into a new home in Correns, in the Provence region, about 60 miles from the Lenval clinic where Jolie arrived Sunday. Her doctor said she will remain in the hospital until she gives birth "in the coming weeks."