How McDonald's Conquered FranceThe fast-food chain's most surprising success.
By Mike SteinbergerPosted Thursday, June 25, 2009, at 1:43 PM ET

In his new book, Au Revoir to All That: Food, Wine, and the End of France, Slate wine columnist Mike Steinberger examines the startling decline of French cuisine over the past few decades, explaining how a country that turned eating and drinking into an art form has lost its touch for cheese, wine, food, and fine dining. In yesterday's excerpt, Steinberger explained how the Michelin guide, which once celebrated the pinnacles of French culinary achievement, became a "millstone" around the necks of the nation's chefs. Today's excerpt, the second of two, explains how McDonald's conquered France—its second-biggest market in the world.

On a bright, mild Sunday afternoon in March 2007, at a convention center in Paris, the annual Salon International de l'Agriculture was winding down. The Salon was a week-long trade show that literally brought the farm to the city. Hundreds of farmers and truckloads of farm animals came to Paris to give urbanites a taste of la France Profonde. It was an opportunity for city kids to pet horses, chase chickens, and be flabbergasted by the amount of waste matter that poured out of cows. It was also an occasion to showcase the meats, cheeses, and wines that made the French countryside such a cherished source of sustenance. No less than that, the event was a way for Parisians to express their support of French agriculture—in a sense, to reaffirm their own Frenchness. The patriotic overtones were catnip for politicians: President Jacques Chirac had kicked off the Salon the previous Sunday, and the floor traffic throughout the week included a steady flow of ministers and members of parliament.
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Encouraged by the nice weather, an enormous crowd had turned out for the Salon's closing day. Most of the visitors were families with young children. They formed a striking portrait of the new, multicultural France: Many of them were white, but many others were of African, Caribbean, and Middle Eastern descent. Hijabs were nearly as ubiquitous as baseball caps and sneakers. By now, a full week into this jamboree, animal droppings and strands of hay were everywhere and the place reeked of the barnyard; judging by your nose and the bottom of your shoes, you really might have thought you were down on the farm—that is, until the big, splashy McDonald's exhibit, located toward the back of the livestock hall, came into view. What the hell was that doing here, and why was it crawling with people?

As I moved closer, I discovered that no food was being sold; instead, McDonald's was feeding its guests corporate propaganda. Large, colorful placards ringed the display, documenting the amount of French beef, poultry, and vegetables that McDonald's used, detailing the nutritional value of the food it served, and describing the company's eco-friendly practices. The words were accompanied by lots of pastoral imagery—cows, potatoes, sheaves of wheat. Children weren't spared the charm offensive. At an activity table, a sign reading D'où vient ton McDo? (Where does your McDonald's come from?) was adorned with more pictures of chickens and cows. Judging by the display, you would never have guessed that it belonged to an American fast-food chain. That, apparently, was the idea. Cooked down to its essence, the message from McDonald's was that its food was French, it was good for you, and it was good for the environment. I wasn't buying it, but the intended audience clearly was. Didn't these kids realize that McDonald's was the Trojan horse of mondialisation and that they were committing cultural treason? Why weren't their parents stopping them?

In the battle for France, Jose Bové, the protester who vandalized a McDonald's in 1999 and was then running for president, proved to be no match for Le Big Mac. The first round of the presidential election was held on April 22, and Bové finished an embarrassing tenth, garnering barely 1 percent of the total vote. By then, McDonald's had eleven hundred restaurants in France, three hundred more than it had had when Bové gave new meaning to the term "drive-through." The company was pulling in over a million people per day in France, and annual turnover was growing at twice the rate it was in the United States. Arresting as those numbers were, there was an even more astonishing data point: By 2007, France had become the second-most profitable market in the world for McDonald's, surpassed only by the land that gave the world fast food. Against McDonald's, Bové had lost in a landslide.

As reprehensible as Bové's tactics were, it was difficult for a food-loving Francophile not to feel a little solidarity with him. If you believed that McDonald's was a blight on the American landscape, seeing it on French soil was like finding a peep show at the Vatican, and in a contest between Roquefort and Chicken McNuggets, I knew which side I was on. But implicit in this attitude was a belief that McDonald's had somehow been foisted on the French; that slick American marketing had lured them away from the bistro and into the arms of Ronald McDonald. However, that just wasn't true. The French came to McDonald's and la malbouffe (or fast-food) willingly, and in vast and steadily rising numbers. Indeed, the quarter-pounded conquest of France was not the result of some fiendish American plot to subvert French food culture. It was an inside job, and not merely in the sense that the French public was lovin' it—the architects of McDonald's strategy in France were French.

The principal architect (or culprit, depending on your point of view) was Denis Hennequin, a forty-nine-year-old Parisian. He had joined McDonald's in 1984, straight out of law school. At the time, McDonald's was relaunching itself in France; an effort in the 1970s to establish a presence there had failed because of the company's dissatisfaction with its French franchisee. After stints as an assistant store manager, a training and recruiting consultant, and the Paris regional director, Hennequin was named president and managing director of McDonald's France in 1996. In the eight years that followed, he steered the company through the Bové controversy and into a period of robust growth and expansion. It was a job so well done that in 2004, Hennequin was promoted to executive vice president of McDonald's Europe, and just a year later he was put in charge of European operations, overseeing more than six thousand restaurants in forty countries and a quarter-million employees. Having done the seemingly impossible and made McDonald's safe for France, he was now thought to be in line to take over the entire Chicago-based company. A Frenchman running McDonald's—it would be a hard thought to swallow on either side of the Atlantic.

Within the organization, it was widely agreed that Hennequin had exhibited audacious leadership in France, notably in his handling of the Bové crisis. Rather than doing the prudent, corporate-minded thing and seeking some form of conciliation with Bové, Hennequin had decided to meet provocation with provocation. In 2001, McDonald's France had launched a promotional campaign using Astérix, the beloved French cartoon character whose thick handlebar mustache was the inspiration for Bové's facial broom. That same year, Hennequin rolled another, bigger grenade under Bové's tractor by opening the McDonald's booth at the Salon de l'Agriculture. There was deep anxiety among Hennequin's colleagues about the reception that awaited them there. "Everyone said, 'They are going to kill us,' " recalled Eric Gravier, a vice president of McDonald's France and a longtime employee. The fears were so great, he said, that they had all their posters made in triplicate because they expected the booth to be pelted with dung. But Hennequin wouldn't be deterred: McDonald's France was sourcing 75 percent of its ingredients domestically, and he felt it was imperative from a PR standpoint to force French farmers, hypocritically applauding Bové, to publicly acknowledge the large volume of business that they were doing with McDo. While the gambit was undeniably bold, Hennequin understood that he was operating from a position of strength, and not only in regard to the farmers. The French public applauded Bové, too, but in the places that mattered most, the stomach and the wallet, it applauded McDonald's more.

The wallet was no minor consideration. McDonald's appealed to budget-conscious students, of course, but with France's high unemployment and sluggish economy, it attracted people of all ages. Pensioners, for instance, were among the chain's most loyal clients. The food at McDonald's was cheap, and it was made cheaper still because its restaurants were officially designated as takeout joints. The value-added tax on meals at such establishments was just 5.5 percent, versus the 19.6 percent levied at "gastronomic" restaurants. This gave McDonald's an even greater competitive advantage over brasseries, bistros, and cafés. It was odd that French politicians, supposedly committed to keeping globalization at bay and defending France's culinary patrimony, would extend such favorable tax treatment to an American hamburger chain, and the different rates were a source of endless consternation to chefs, restaurant owners, and other purveyors of French cuisine. As André Daguin, a retired two-star chef and now the head of the French Hotel and Restaurant Association, put it, "Either our government wants us to be the country with the best restaurants, or it doesn't."

What especially cheesed off Daguin and other chefs was that McDonald's was being taxed as a carryout establishment even though the overwhelming majority of its customers actually chose to dine chez McDo. French diners tended to treat McDonald's as if it were no different than the bistro around the corner: They came, they ate, and they lingered. As Gravier artfully put it, "The French population uses McDonald's in a very French way; it is fast food, but not that fast." The data the company collected bore this out. Americans visited McDonald's more often than the French, at all hours of the day, frequently alone, and opted for takeout 70 percent of the time. The French spent more money per visit, came in groups more often than Americans, and did 70 percent of their eating during regular lunch and dinner hours. "We have a food culture in France; eating is not a feeding moment, it is a social moment," Gravier said.

And the company was very adept at catering to French proclivities, a point brought home to me on a visit to a McDonald's on the Champs-Élysées in June 2007. I was part of a group of journalists being given a guided tour by Jean-Pierre Petit, who had succeeded Hennequin as the chief executive of McDonald's France. We had come to this particular McDonald's because Petit wanted to show us the newest addition to the company's product line in France: McCafé, a stand-alone espresso bar offering lattes, macchiatos, and the like, along with fruit tarts, macarons, and other classic French sweets. The company was planning to open McCafés all over France, and the Champs-Élysées location was home to one of the first. Some of the other journalists eagerly ordered espresso drinks and pastries, but I wouldn't be so easily gulled—this was still McDonald's. Petit began making the rounds with a plate of macarons and insisted I try one. I took a pistachio. Not bad, I thought, but no Ladurée. As if reading my mind, Petit immediately chimed in, "We get the macarons from Holder, the company that owns Ladurée." Touché.

www.slate.com . . .

In his new book, Au Revoir to All That: Food, Wine, and the End of France, Slate wine columnist Mike Steinberger examines the startling decline of French cuisine over the past few decades

Nobody I know says they're going out to eat French. Lots of people say lets get something Italian or Chinese or Mexican. I can't remember the last time anybody said lets go to a French restaurant. I see more Greek or Thai restaurants then French.

how McDonald's conquered France—its second-biggest market in the world.

I can't understand how a country that claims to like food can eat Macdonalds. Its tasteless and unhealthy. In Britain on the other hand most of our food was just like macdonalds; tasteless, bland and very unhealthy. So similar food, that is fast would have a ready market. But British cuisine has improved out of all recognition in the last 3 decades. So I assume that sales of macdonalds and their ilk has declined in recent years. One good thing though. If France has given up on good food, they will not need such high agricultural subsidies in future. Factory farming can produce the quality of food that they now seem to like.

Hey, the french know good food when they see it.

"McDonald's Conquered France"


HA HA HA HA !

mikgof wrote:

I can't understand how a country that claims to like food can eat Macdonalds. Its tasteless and unhealthy. In Britain on the other hand most of our food was just like macdonalds; tasteless, bland and very unhealthy. So similar food, that is fast would have a ready market. But British cuisine has improved out of all recognition in the last 3 decades. So I assume that sales of macdonalds and their ilk has declined in recent years. One good thing though. If France has given up on good food, they will not need such high agricultural subsidies in future. Factory farming can produce the quality of food that they now seem to like.

I think you are mistaken.When you talk about the rise of English food you're talking about restaurants,right ?
Mac Shite has not replaced the restaurants,it has replaced home made food.(which is ,somehow,even more worrying).
People are getting lazy,too lazy to cook (for those who have the time to),too lazy to educate the taste of their children.

When I was young ,when my grandfather was telling to eat something,I didn't have much of a choice, believe me !

As a result I've tasted many various dishes and then my palate became sharp.
The palate has to be educated,a kid will always turn to sweet, fat or salty meals. (fries,Ketchup,the thing they call cheese in Burgers etc...).
Bitterness ,as an example,is repulsive for a child.

Mac shite is obviously targeting children,through advertising.

As a result,and i'm ashamed to say that,in my own family(brother in law) the children's thrill of the week-end is going to either quick (Belgian Fast food) or Mac Shite.

Me,even when I was young,I would have killed for eating my grand mother's "civet de lapin".
Every Sunday I honour my Grand mother's memory by cooking.

I hate this new society and I know where this society pattern comes from.

Resistance !!!!!!!

saintnectaire wrote:

Mac Shite has not replaced the restaurants,it has replaced home made food.(which is ,somehow,even more worrying).

Yeah,.. you might want to check with INSEE about that,...

Rising food prices and declining consumer confidence are leading the French to abandon bistros for McDonald's. About 3,000 independent restaurants filed for bankruptcy in the first half of 2008, according to Insee, which is France's national statistics office. The number of filings was a record 27% higher than in the same period of 2007.


France is meanwhile emerging as McDonald's biggest source of revenue outside of the United States. Sales at the company's 1,115 outlets in France will rise this year to a record 3.35 billion euros, McDonald's has said.

Resistance !!!!!!!

3.35 BILLION euros a year worth of "resistance" - lol

[q=BurnParis]
Yeah,.. you might want to check with INSEE about that,...

Rising food prices and declining consumer confidence are [b]leading the French to abandon bistros for McDonald's. About 3,000 independent restaurants filed for bankruptcy in the first half of 2008

It's concomitant,people who are educated don't(or rarely) go to Mac shite,even in the USA.

"Fast Food"'s origin is in the working class. Workers who wanted something hot to eat, needed their food on demand because of limited meal time. Thus it aided in productivity by saving time.

McDonalds became the dominant "hamburger joint" because of its consistancy across the USA, not because its food was superior. In postwar America (especially after the completion of the interstate highway system) Americans spread across the country traveling in their automobiles. Often it was at a hurried rate "to get there" quickly, thus dining became more of a chore than a delight.

Under such conditions a "surprise" when finding food was usually a disaster. Hence the expression, "Never eat at a place called Mom's." Sure there were other chains than McDonalds, but their supplies were often local, not from a national distributor, so you were playing Russian Roulette when selecting one: the food could be good or barely edible. I remember the only thing consistant with A&W joints was the root beer. However at McDonalds, the food was always the same wherever you were. And thus, no surprises.

I grew up during this transition. I saw in my own town how once McDonalds showed up all the crappy places folded. The only local places that survived did so because they clearly offered better food. From a business prespective they were doomed as the clientel drifted to "locals only". Travellers weren't about to take a chance on them.

I saw this same type of behavior with fellow Americans in Europe. They foolishly went to McDonalds rather than test the local cuisine. Granted I am a bit more adventurous that the average American, but still I think it foolish to travel thousands of miles to eat a burger. In the six months I spent during my first visit to Europe, I went to a McDonalds ONCE, and only because the locals I was with insisted on going.

To be honest, I wished there would have been a McDonalds in Moscow when I was there. It was difficult to find any food. When one finally did open there (long after I had left) it was impossible to get because the Russians lined up for hours to get in. No big deal though because by the time I had left, I found where to get shashlik.

BTW, you Eurps might want to know that European McDonald's are not identical to American ones. Your's have been tuned to your local culture a bit (which does surprise Americans!).

saintnectaire wrote:

It's concomitant,people who are educated don't(or rarely) go to Mac shite,even in the USA.

Indeed,... that's about 30,000,000 "uneducated" french people.

Every 12 months, one out of two French people visit McDonald's at least once. Annually, they consume 22 million McDonald's salads, 60,000 tons of French fries, 32,000 tons of beef patties, 12,000 tons of chicken, and 600 million buns.

Just based on the number of buns, that's 10 hamburgers per person living in france alone,.... AMAZING!!!!

BurnParis wrote:


Indeed,... that's about 30,000,000 "uneducated" french people.

Every 12 months, one out of two French people visit McDonald's at least once. Annually, they consume 22 million McDonald's salads, 60,000 tons of French fries, 32,000 tons of beef patties, 12,000 tons of chicken, and 600 million buns.

Just based on the number of buns, that's 10 hamburgers per person living in france alone,.... AMAZING!!!!

Amazing indeed,so you think we only have the right to go to Mac Shite once a year...????
a guy who goes there once a week would at least eat 104 burgers/year alone.PFFF

saintnectaire wrote:

Amazing indeed,so you think we only have the right to go to Mac Shite once a year...????
a guy who goes there once a week would at least eat 104 burgers/year alone.PFFF

What's your point?

It still doesn't change the fact that 30,000,000 french a year eat at "McDo's" - do the math

BurnParis wrote:


What's your point?

It still doesn't change the fact that 30,000,000 french a year eat at "McDo's" - do the math

If only it was true !!!! I wish every French would go to Mac do once a year,it wouldn't be a problem.
But the reality is quite different,a large part of the lower class is going to the Mac D on very regular bases.They are the one who give their money and their health to Mac D.

saintnectaire wrote:

If only it was true !!!!

It is true you dumbass,.. Your own country, and industry is saying it,.. not the US.

Remember too,.. THESE numbers don't lie,..."3.35 BILLION euros a year"

That's a LOT of "lower class" you have,.....

BurnParis wrote:


It is true you dumbass,.. Your own country, and industry is saying it,.. not the US.

Remember too,.. THESE numbers don't lie,..."3.35 BILLION euros a year"

That's a LOT of "lower class" you have,.....

Ok, I didn't realize you were such an idiot.
You don't wanna understand?...too bad.

I won't waste time on you any more.

Have a good day

saintnectaire wrote:

I won't waste time on you any more.

Have a good day

Too Funny!

And remember Bparis,when José bové will destroy again a Macdonald's ,they will say nothing. No complain. They don't want to lose such a profitable market.

Coward and greedy macdo. American to make short.

Its funny when a Yurp (especially the Stinkies) uses the term "lower class". You almost never hear an American using that term.

It gets down right hilarious when that Stinky is in the working class, but acts like he's a petty noble.

simplefrench wrote:

And remeber Bparis,when José bov2 will destroy again a Macdonald's ,they will say nothing.

What's there to say you retard?

You still have no fucking concept of "franchise do you?

When bove burns a McDonalds building in france,… he’s burning the property of a french citizen, not the McDonalds corporation.

With a franchise, some dumb ass frog buys the right to use the McDonalds name and advertizing – the frog supplies the building, and pays for the furnishing and equipment from McDonalds.

McDonalds doesn’t own the physical restaurant, just the name. The “loss” of physical property is to the franchise holder (the frog), not the corporation.

BURN THEM ALL DOWN.

Go on,.. McDonalds will be glad to sell you even more to replace them.

GreyUhu wrote:

Its funny when a Yurp (especially the Stinkies) uses the term "lower class". You almost never hear an American using that term.

It gets down right hilarious when that Stinky is in the working class, but acts like he's a petty noble.

I don't know how you call your lower class,probably because you spend your time denying there's one in the US.

can you find some jacques vabre expresso café, some evian , chocolat suchard, actimel danone , all those french "products" in the american mac donald's ?

www.mcdonalds.fr . . .

By the way simple,... When bove burns down a McDonalds franchise in france,..

The french franchise owner has signed a 20-year franchise agreement, meaning, he has no other choice but to rebuild the franchise, or pay for 20 years out of his own pocket.

Just thought you should know,...

saintnectaire wrote:

I don't know how you call your lower class,probably because you spend your time denying there's one in the US.

We have low economic tiers, but we don't consider it a class. About the only time we use "class" its in "Working Class" which is just about everyone. We prefer the terms "Blue Collar" or "White collar", but even those have become obsolete as they no longer reflect wealth or status.

America is constantly changing as the society is extremely mobile economically. The RICH can become very poor, and the POOR can become very rich. Its all up to the individual to make his place. Heredity means virtually nothing.

GreyUhu wrote:

[q=saintnectaire]We have low economic tiers, but we don't consider it a class. About the only time we use "class" its in "Working Class" which is just about everyone. We prefer the terms "Blue Collar" or "White collar", but even those have become obsolete as they no longer reflect wealth or status.

America is constantly changing as the society is extremely mobile economically. The RICH can become very poor, and the POOR can become very rich. Its all up to the individual to make his place. Heredity means virtually nothing.

Oh and about your previous post,I and most of the French on this site probably don't belong to the Blue collars.
Most of the blue collars in France wouldn't be able to have a conversation in English.It's kind of a filter.
You on the other hand,well you have Burn Paris....