The French (Fries) Paradox

Filed in archive Food for Thought on June 20, 2006

Oh, I never put much thought to this. I also didn't realise that McDonald's in France was the second most profitable in the world, next to the US. That of course is thanks to its top executive Denis Hennequin.

Because of Mr. Hennequin, the French love-hate for the Golden Arches is better highlighted. Consider this: "A half-built McDonald's restaurant was bulldozed seven years ago to protest the Americanization of France" and protesters paint McDonald's as the embodiment of all that is wrong with fast food and American culture YET the restaurants are never empty.

Yet for many French patrons, McDonald's remains that little piece of America. "We are an icon of the United States, and also, when you enter a McDonald's restaurant, you enter America," he said. "It's one of the French paradoxes," he went on. "The French like to be a little disruptive, provocative. Yet at the same time they vote with their feet. We serve one million customers every year."

Read the twists and turns on the New York Times article A McDonald's Ally in Paris.

Isn't life and food interesting?