Angelina Jolie, George Clooney 'Turf War' Explained: Brad Pitt's Pal Allegedly 'Rolls Eyes' at Actress' Plans to Relocate to France

Angelina Jolie's plan to relocate to France is reportedly causing tension with fellow Hollywood star George Clooney, as the actress prepares to leave Los Angeles once her youngest children turn 18 this summer and move closer to the former couple's Château Miraval estate.

The news came after a string of reports detailing Jolie's gradual retreat from Hollywood life in Los Angeles. She is said to be selling her £20 million Los Feliz mansion and plotting a life split between Europe, New York and Cambodia, while still locked in a bitter legal fight with ex-husband Brad Pitt over the French winery they once shared. At the same time, Clooney, a long‑time friend of Pitt, has just been granted French citizenship, with insiders casting his reaction to Jolie's apparent French ambitions as somewhere between exasperated and frosty.

France 'Turf War' Explained

The National Enquirer claims Clooney, 64, is unimpressed by Jolie's renewed interest in France, with one source saying the Oscar winner 'can't help but roll his eyes' at the idea she might base herself there. Clooney's loyalty to Pitt is being cast as the core of the alleged stand‑off.

'George remains incredibly loyal to Brad and always will be,' one insider told the outlet, adding that Clooney's relationship with Jolie 'was severed as soon as she dumped Brad.'

Jolie, 50, has been striking a very different tone in public, focusing on France itself rather than any perceived Hollywood politics. While promoting her Paris‑set project Couture, she praised the country's cultural pull and hinted at a deeper personal connection.

'I find it very enriching as an artist and as a woman to be in France,' she said. 'I feel that more of myself comes out here. The conversations seem deeper and more enriching to me.'

She has also stressed that her ties to the country are not new. Twins Vivienne and Knox were born in Nice, and the family spent long periods at Château Miraval before the marriage collapsed. According to one source quoted by The National Enquirer, 'Angelina's future is absolutely in France,' with the star said to be working on her French‑language skills.

The suggestion, again from unnamed insiders rather than official spokespeople, is that Clooney's growing influence in France could complicate any attempt by Jolie to embed herself in the country's film industry. Clooney was granted French citizenship for what officials described as his contribution to France's 'international influence and cultural outreach,' and one source insists 'France has welcomed George with open arms. But now he's hoping she stays the heck away.'

Jolie's Exit From Los Angeles and the Château Miraval Fight

Jolie has been quietly setting up a life beyond Los Angeles for some time. She bought the historic Cecil B. DeMille estate in Los Feliz in 2017 and has lived there with her six children ever since. The 2.1‑acre property, worth about $25 million, includes a main house, studio, pool and extensive gardens. Sources quoted by Page Six say she has now started actively showing it to potential buyers.

Actor and producer Jae Benjamin, described as a long‑time friend, painted her move as an escape from a long‑running storm. 'She can't get far enough away from the drama ... the only way to take a break is to get out,' he said. 'She'll go and decompress – only working on things that drive her heart, soul, and passion. She's a wonderful, talented, and giving woman.'

Jolie has been blunt about why she stayed in California after filing for divorce from Pitt in 2016. 'I am here because I have to be here from a divorce, but as soon as they're 18, I'll be able to leave,' she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2024. Vivienne and Knox, the youngest, turn 18 on 12 July, effectively loosening the custody arrangements that have tethered her to Los Angeles.

Though their divorce was finally settled on 30 December 2024 after eight bruising years, the legal fallout has not ended. The former couple remain locked in a commercial dispute over Château Miraval, the Provence estate and winery they once bought together. Pitt recently secured a procedural win in that case.

According to court documents obtained by People, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge in December ordered Jolie to hand over previously withheld or 'unredacted' communications related to the Miraval deal. The order, issued on Wednesday 17 December, compels her to produce, within 45 days, the full versions of 22 documents that had been listed on a February 2025 privilege log. Pitt's legal team believes those emails could show Jolie 'has been disingenuous since the start regarding her true intentions about selling her share of the business to Stoli,' a source told the magazine.

Away from the legal filings, her children are slowly stepping out on their own. Maddox is 24, Pax 22 and Zahara 20. Shiloh, now 19, has reportedly dropped 'Pitt' from her surname in legal documents. Zahara recently introduced herself as 'Zahara Marley Jolie' at her sorority induction, and Vivienne is listed as 'Vivienne Jolie' in the Playbill for Broadway musical The Outsiders.

People Magazine quoted a source saying Jolie is looking to a future anchored not in LA but in Cambodia, France and parts of Africa, where she has long-standing personal ties and what the insider called 'dear friends... who she considers confidantes and family.' She is, that source said, 'looking forward to 2026 and the flexibility she'll have then' — whether or not George Clooney shares her enthusiasm for France.