French town begs for a McDo of its own

THE French elite may scorn McDonald’s for what they see as an economic and gastronomic horror in the same bun, but citizens in a town in northern France have taken to the streets to demand a branch of the US fast-food chain.

Authorities in Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, near Lille, have been asked to reverse their decision to suspend the construction of a new outlet.

The McDonald’s was nearing completion on the edge of town when authorities suddenly decided it did not comply with zoning regulations and ordered building work to stop.

The decision infuriated locals, who had been hoping the restaurant would provide badly needed jobs as well as adding to the small town’s social life.

Despite vocal snobbery, the French have fallen in love with McDonald’s— France is now the second-biggest consumer of Big Macs outside the US.

“McDo”, as the French call it, has 1 300 outlets in the country. It has attracted new customers by “Frenchifying” its range, offering products such as the McBaguette and the Alpine burger.

The campaigners behind this week’s march have set up a Facebook page, which so far has garnered 4 000 “likes”, to persuade the local authorities to let work resume on the restaurant.

But that outcome appears far from certain. Officials say work should never have been started in the first place because the outlet was being constructed in a zone earmarked for industrial, not commercial, activities. —© The Daily Telegraph, London