Food in the News by Shelley Lance, Blog Editor
Which country has the second most profitable McDonald’s operation, right after the US? Surprise answer: France.
According to this article in the New York Times, the French have grown fond of their McDonald’s, which “marks a big change from the past decade. When Jose Bove, a French farmer and activist, decided to protest global capitalism and what he called Coca-Colonization in 1999, he dismantled a McDonald’s in the south of France.”
Compare this to the lack of French outrage over the plan for McDonald’s to open a restaurant in the mall right under the Louvre.
The French do eat differently than Americans at McDonald’s. “They come less often but spend more because they want a proper meal. That is defined as a sit-down experience with two courses.” (Editor’s note: I’m not sure what the first course is, McNuggets?) Of course the French do have a somewhat different McDonald’s menu than we Americans, including a version of a Caprese salad called Little Mozza (maybe that’s the first course). They also get beer and espresso, and the French McDonald’s “emphasizes the French origin of the beef and vegetables in its restaurants.” Also, the jambon beurre, or ham and butter sandwich on baguette (another French option not seen in American McDonald’s), “still outsells the burgers 10 to 1.”
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