McDonald's in Europe? Godsend or Blight?
 

European McDonalds to me are a Godsend, but many folks i talk to say they would never be caught dead in one. What's your take?
To me they're a Godsend because of:
...their WCs in cities where public toilets are rare. Rather than having to buy an expensive drink in a cafe just to use their WC at most McDonalds you use them without hassle.
...for a cheap caffeine fix or a place to rest weary bones for a few minutes, again without spending a fortune.
...for quick snacks that don't surprise you and there is little language barrier ordering. (I would find that someone who went to Europe and ate only fast-food fare is shortchanging themselves but at time i just want to dispense with waiters, foreing menus and the long time many restaurants involve.) McSalats are a quick low-cal fix.
...neat outdoor tables often in the town's central square. McDonalds often has the same fancy wicker chairs out front the belly up to expensive cafes next door - i often just want to people watch and McTables fill the bill cheaply. Instead of coffee i often order a McBeer or McWine.
...Internet access - more and more offer free internet access and e-mails!
So like i said i feel it's sad to head for the Golden Arches for main meals, but thank God they're there for basic tourist needs! I'm sure others feel like Marc Bove, the French farmer who bulldozed his local McDonald's down to protest their presence.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? GODSEND OR BULLDOZE?

Marc Bove didn't have any money invested in McDonald's stock obviously.

Ask the investors if THEY think these establishments are a blight?

Ask the people who enjoy them if they are a blight and they'll say "no."

Ask the people who hate them and they'll say "yes."

What difference does it make?

I see the good points and the bad. but I think they make an adventure into McEurope.

From what I have seen, European kids like McD's as much as American kids do.

I like McStarbucks

PalQ, what is with all these questions you're asking that have no answer? You're getting into troll territory!

Like someone said about my previous post- very slow day at work! I should stick to asking how the Boeuf Marigny is at the Hotel Stupendo? Come to think many questions on that theme are the same as the one i raised-no hard fast answer. S L O D A Y A T W O R K!

"PalQ, what is with all these questions you're asking that have no answer?"

Actually, they do have an answer, not just the same answer or a "right" answer.

Obviously millions of the world's population likes McDonalds. Personally, I would not go into a McDonalds in the U.S., so why would I go to one in Europe (I did go into one for its restroom in Paris, and it was the filthiest restroom I have ever seen).

Are they a blight? To me, they're a blight in our own country, but to each his own. I love Starbucks, while other people hate them.

Perhaps Europeans can Supersize themselves like Americans have done, and we can share America's obesity problems with other countries.
((H))

The McD hater is JOSE Bove, not Marc.

And considering that the McD provides fast and inexpensive food, uses local suppliers to every possible extent it can (and increases its own costs that way) and has enormous buying power (read: engine of commerce), it seems to work hard to NOT be a bad Euro-corporate citizen.

BLIGHT!

McDonald's are not aimed at American tourists, as far as I can tell. They are the same in Europe as in the U.S., fast food for folks who like it. When I've bothered to notice, the McD's are filled with European locals.

We liked the McD's we found as they were the only places with 'maxi' drinks that included ICE!! They were a GodSend to us during the summer of '03 when temps were in the 90's+ in Paris and surrounding area. Loved the chocolate croque monsieur, tomato/cheese, etc.

The quality of the food is better at the euro McDs...not as much sugar and fat as far as I can tell. In fact, the hot chocolate and ice cream sundaes are in a different league compared to what we get here in the states.

And MacDonalds, as many Europeans inevitably pronounce it, are more environmentally friendly there it seems; in Switzerland i often get Sundaes in cups that you can eat - the best earth-friendly container possible!

Blight here, blight there.

I don't mind some of the chain restaurants when I'm touring in a city. Like mentioned earlier, it's nice to know you can run in and use the restrooms ( US term, I know - but McDonalds is a US chain so I think I can get away with it in this instance :) ) and buy something to drink. I don't normally eat at McDonald's when vacationing in Europe and I would hate to see them springing up every other block. But they do serve a purpose.

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I just like their muffins.
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They're great if you have kids and need to have a quick dinner out (when it's late mine can't handle a regular restaurant).

typically, they are no more of a blight than any other bad restaurants. with the strict zoning laws in most places, they tend to blend in well with the surrounding shops and are usually in the town/city centres rather than sprawling all over the countryside.

i never eat in them (wouldn't rule it out if i ever needed a fast, no hassle meal). i assume that your post also refers to pizza hut, KFC, and burger king, all which have a substantial presence in europe.

Well since you invited people to vent their prejudices:

Blight.

Because they have nothing to do with "there" -- the place I spent a fortune to see -- and everything to do with "here" -- the place I paid to get out of.

This may be a frivolous reason, but I vote for "blight" because of their color scheme. I don't think red and yellow look good together (at least the may McD's does it). At least Starbuck's has a more acceptable shade of green.

I know I should be focusing more on how they treat their employees, the environment, etc., but sometimes I can't help being petty. Red and yellow = ug and ly.

I think that Marc Bove, the French farmer bulldozed the local McDonalds because they get their food from contracted sources not in his area or not even in France at all. He would not have leveled it just because its a McDonalds.

In Europe, not all McDonalds restaurants are "blights" or "have nothing to do with 'there'" ... like this one in Rouen:

http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/23f93/171cb/2/

Well, that McD's is not bad looking at all.

As to my earlier post, what I didn't mention is that when McD's opened in our country neighborhood, there was a lot of protest because of it being an "eyesore." To McD's credit, they changed the color scheme (such as their trademark red roof) to green, to blend in as much as possible with the countryside (it didn't completely work, but they tried). Still, I think MOST are "blights."

Blight - EVERYWHERE! Food is horrible, buildings are ugly.

I don't go to Europe to eat at McDonalds
or to use their bathrooms. I cringe when
I see American chains. So for me...a blight!!

McPalQ, buddy, you really need to find a more interesting job.

Jolie = McPetty. Global predators are fine with you as long as they have an appealing color scheme.

Jolie - I got a kick out of what you wrote about the colour schemes because I must confess I think that myself!

I'm not sure what "global predator" means. If you mean Starbucks does things like allow low wages and unjust labor practices on the coffee plantations of their suppliers, then I don't have anything to compare them to. I don't know how the suppliers of European coffee shops treat their workers by comparison (not the coffee shops, their suppliers). Maybe better, maybe worse, maybe the same. I haven't read any studies on it (there may be studies, but i haven't read them).

If by "global predator" you mean an American company taking over European businesses, then that's not my call to make. For example, if Boeing puts Airbus out of business (or vice versa), a lot of Europeans (or Americans) will end up unemployed. But it's market-driven.

I'm just saying that in this instance, as a tourist, I do judge "blight" by appearance. I do not independently research the environmental, labor, political, etc., policies of every American food and product I may encounter in Europe just so I can then boycott them when I see one.

So yeah, I judged them on appearance. I already admitted to being petty on this issue.

Well, I guess, blight aside or not, I just can't imagine going to Europe and than going to McDonalds. But I do not go to them here. No, I am not a snob. I just hate fast food. I do go to small Mom & Pop run cafes. And family restaurants in Italy. I just gag on fast food.

But than, here we go again, I don't go to Walmarts either. Cheers!

Re-reading my previous post, I think it came off a little too harsh. I do NOT support exploiting poorer nations just so yuppies can have a nice cup of coffee.

But as a tourist, I do not have the political and social agenda of each American company to base my decision on. All I have to go by is what I see. That's the point I was trying to make. Sorry for the previous rant.

Rent the documentary "Supersize Me" and then make your decision!!!!!!!!!!

My feelings on the subject vacillate as a function of three independent variables: hunger, bathroom needs, and the availability of local establishments as alternatives.

The intensity of the feelings of disfavor varies inversely with the frequency of occurrences of quality local alternatives. That is, the more good local facilities there are available, the less I like McDonalds.

If confronted with only 2 choices, and a good local establishment is next door to a McDonalds, I go in the local.

If either of the first two variables are above average levels of intensity, and no local is around, then I am quite receptive to McDonalds or whatever American chain happens to be available.


The status of feelings is subject to relatively rapid change.

For example, one Sunday morning in Paris, nothing around the hotel was open except McDonalds. I was NOT going to eat at the hotel! And McDonalds suddenly looked wonderful.

The next day, La Brioche Doree was open and I could get my morning pastry fix for breakfast! McDonalds suddenly lost status. (That is part of the downside of going to Paris, one has to eat so much pastry. Bakeries and bistros force that stuff on you all day long. I mean clerks pull me in off the street and mercilessly tempt me with strawberry tarts, blueberry cakes, and chocolate goodies. It's awful.)

bob_brown, you poor dear. Traveling does have its problems, does it not? LOL. ((A))

Can someone tell me how many moans there have been about Italian restaurants in the US?

Or Indian restaurants in Britain?

Jose Bove destroyed a McD as a protest against the difficulty he was having in blighting US foodstores with his repulsive cheese. And when it comes to being a global predator in the food industry (or creating hideous buildings), there really is little the French need to learn from the US.

Why couldn't Bove export his fast food? Because the US was retaliating against totally illegal EU bans on US beef. Like all the welfare junkies that make up France's agribusiness, Bove believed only in his right to destroy other people's businesses whenever he couldn't get his own way.

In a civilised country, terrorists like this thug would still be in jail.

it seems that most of us who actually live in europe are a little more measured in our thoughts about this.

do i dislike mcdonalds? yes i do. i have no idea why they have their appeal with the bright lights, awful design, corporate formula food, etc. i have no idea why they are still "cool" with young people after so many decades. i also hate the effect they have on local business, health, beef processing, etc. i have read much of the literature on this problem so i know the issues.

however, as much as many people here do not want to admit it, mcds and the others are firmly entrenched in europe as far as demand among young people. kids in paris beg their parents to take them to mcds as much as american kids do. teenagers also.

the comment about spending a lot of money to go to europe to not see mcdonalds is kind of funny to me. europe is not a disneyland maintained for americans looking for stereotypical "european charm". these companies are a worldwide problem and i find it strange that you seem more concerned with the problems of mcds in europe than you do in your own country, especially since the problems are much worse in america.

maybe the only hope is that european youth will start to see american things as uncool - as seems to be the trend these days. However, i'm not sure that mcds is even seen as an american thing as it has been ubiquitous for so long in europe.

If you had to choose, would you go to a Wimpey's or to a McDonald's on the same street?

Ira...

I remember many moons ago going to the UK and their hamburger joints were called Wimpey's and I found them to be nearly inedible.

My British friends marvel at the efficiency of McDonald's how you walk in and indeed it is fast food; they are used to waiting for everything (except for perhaps a pint in a pub!)

All I know is that the McD's in London are always crowded and not by Americans visiting either (as are Burger Kinds, KFC's, Pizza Huts0. And of course all over London and throughout Scandanavia you see 7-11's...

But I still believe one of the nice things about McDonald's is that they don't have this paranoia about having non customers use their toilets although in many parts of Europe they have joined the tradition and you will find dragon ladies.....

I agree that McDonalds is best thought of as a toilet.
Most popular burger bars in UK are Burger King.They sell better burgers.

Blight. Italian children are now the fattest in Europe although their parents are still normal sized. Fast food must have somthing to do with it.