https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from France in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed It's 40 years since the US burger giant McDonald's sold its first French fries in France. Here's a look at how the French fell in love with the Big Mac although the relationship has had its ups and downs over the years. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190917/mcdonalds-celebrates-40-years-of-big-macs-in-france Tue, 17 Sep 2019 21:59:52 +0200 mcdonalds-celebrates-40-years-of-big-macs-in-france A French tourist island has lost its battle to stop McDonald's setting up shop on it shores after a court ruled that it must grant the American fast food giant a building permit. https://www.thelocal.fr/20181012/french-island-lioses-battle-to-stay Fri, 12 Oct 2018 14:13:00 +0200 french-island-lioses-battle-to-stay For decades, McDonald's was the brand French people loved to hate. https://www.thelocal.fr/20180902/the-fight-to-save-not-shut-a-mcdonalds-in-france Sun, 02 Sep 2018 13:29:46 +0200 the-fight-to-save-not-shut-a-mcdonalds-in-france An employee at a McDonald’s in Marseille covered himself in gasoline and locked himself in the toilets in a desperate attempt to thwart the fast food joint from becoming a halal Asian restaurant. https://www.thelocal.fr/20180809/french-mcdonalds-worker-threatens-to-set-himself-on-fire-over-losing-job Thu, 09 Aug 2018 14:52:43 +0200 french-mcdonalds-worker-threatens-to-set-himself-on-fire-over-losing-job A French mayor refusing to let McDonald’s set up shop on his island is fighting back with the launch of a sustainable food zone, provocatively named “McDolus”. https://www.thelocal.fr/20180423/french-town-wages-food-war-on-macdonalds-with-healthy-spoof-eatery Mon, 23 Apr 2018 14:33:26 +0200 french-town-wages-food-war-on-macdonalds-with-healthy-spoof-eatery A small French town is fighting back against "aggressive" advertising from fast food chain McDonald's. https://www.thelocal.fr/20170822/a-small-french-town-is-fighting-back-against-mcdonalds-aggressive-advertising Tue, 22 Aug 2017 17:42:41 +0200 a-small-french-town-is-fighting-back-against-mcdonalds-aggressive-advertising McDonald’s in France is to offer its customers the slightly more civilized option of eating its best burger with a knife and fork rather than their fingers. https://www.thelocal.fr/20170613/mcdonalds-to-give-french-customers-knives-and-forks Tue, 13 Jun 2017 12:55:14 +0200 mcdonalds-to-give-french-customers-knives-and-forks McDonald's in Italy has been ridiculed by the French after it emerged that it was adding potatoes to its Salade Nicoise. But Italy's version of 'McDo' is not the first to provoke a salad war. https://www.thelocal.fr/20170221/french-outraged-as-mcdonalds-puts-potatoes-in-salade-nicoise Tue, 21 Feb 2017 16:10:03 +0100 french-outraged-as-mcdonalds-puts-potatoes-in-salade-nicoise France may be known for its fine dining culture, but in an unprecedented move, it’s the American fast food giant McDonald's that France is calling on to help cut unemployment. https://www.thelocal.fr/20170220/france-banks-on-mcdonalds-to-help-create-jobs Mon, 20 Feb 2017 13:46:06 +0100 france-banks-on-mcdonalds-to-help-create-jobs US burger giant Five Guys has taken the fight to McDonald’s and Burger King on Paris’s most famous street by opening its biggest restaurant in the world. https://www.thelocal.fr/20161209/us-burger-giant-takes-on-mcdo-on-pariss-most-famous-avenue Fri, 09 Dec 2016 13:22:02 +0100 us-burger-giant-takes-on-mcdo-on-pariss-most-famous-avenue Residents of a small town in Provence have united together to try to block US burger giant McDonald’s from setting up its golden arches in town. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160909/tiny-town-in-provence-fights-to-keep-out-the-big-mac Fri, 09 Sep 2016 18:10:48 +0200 tiny-town-in-provence-fights-to-keep-out-the-big-mac When two men decided to rob a McDonald's in eastern France they hadn't expected to come face to face with a table of hungry soldiers from an elite military force. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160607/french-elite-forces-down-burgers-to-foil-mcdo-heist Tue, 07 Jun 2016 09:59:26 +0200 french-elite-forces-down-burgers-to-foil-mcdo-heist French police said on Thursday they raided the French headquarters of McDonald's last week as part of a tax fraud probe. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160526/police-raid-mcdonalds-french-hq-in-tax-probe Thu, 26 May 2016 18:43:25 +0200 police-raid-mcdonalds-french-hq-in-tax-probe McDonald's France has racked up €300 million in unpaid tax bills, according to reports and apparently the French taxman has demanded it back. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160420/french-taxman-sends-mcdonalds-300m-bill Wed, 20 Apr 2016 11:20:13 +0200 french-taxman-sends-mcdonalds-300m-bill The two American burger giants McDonald's and Burger King have descended into tit-for-tat advertising war to win over France's army of fast food fans. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160302/burger-king-trumps-mcdonalds-in-french-ad-war Wed, 02 Mar 2016 12:30:51 +0100 burger-king-trumps-mcdonalds-in-french-ad-war Eight staff members from a McDonald's in central France have been dismissed after their colleagues revealed they were allegedly selling drugs via the drive-through, with the cannabis cut up and bagged at the salad bar. https://www.thelocal.fr/20151102/french-mcdonalds-turns-into-drive-through-drug-dealing Mon, 02 Nov 2015 10:58:20 +0100 french-mcdonalds-turns-into-drive-through-drug-dealing McDonald's has been forced to apologize after one of its outlets in southern France banned staff from giving the restaurant's food to the homeless, telling them "we can't afford to feed all the hungry mouths in the country". https://www.thelocal.fr/20150812/french-mcdonalds-sorry-for-homeless-feeding-ban Wed, 12 Aug 2015 11:34:55 +0200 french-mcdonalds-sorry-for-homeless-feeding-ban In the country that invented haute cuisine – Janine Marsh, editor of The Good Life France, asks "Just why are the French so-Mcdo-pro?" https://www.thelocal.fr/20150703/why-do-the-french-love-mcdonalds-so-much Fri, 03 Jul 2015 19:05:48 +0200 why-do-the-french-love-mcdonalds-so-much Paris Town Hall sent a clear message to McDonald’s this week, telling the US fast food giant, it would do “everything possible” to stop it opening a new giant outlet in an historic area of the capital. https://www.thelocal.fr/20150703/paris-steps-up-campaign-to-keep-mcdonalds-out Fri, 03 Jul 2015 11:01:01 +0200 paris-steps-up-campaign-to-keep-mcdonalds-out Several labour unions and a charity have formally accused McDonald's of cheating the French tax man to the tune of up to €700 million. https://www.thelocal.fr/20150226/mcdonalds-tax-unions-france-european-commission Thu, 26 Feb 2015 11:31:00 +0100 mcdonalds-tax-unions-france-european-commission