McD's Coca-Cola Lite in Europe is nothing like the Diet Coke in the states. You will be disappointed. In most US McD's (not all) the Diet Coke is highly carbonated. In Europe, they are somewhat flat. I could swear the US McD's puts something addictive in their Diet Cokes. The canned Coca Lite I've had in Europe is from the Netherlands and doesn't taste the same either.

Sorry, that list is incomplete. Here's a better one. The 7th is in fact the only arrondissement without a MdDo.

In the 1st: 116 rue de Rivoli; 184 rue de Rivoli; 12 rue Berger; 17 rue de l'Arc en Ciel.

In the 2nd: 11 boulevard Saint Denis/141 boulevard Sébastopol.

In the 3rd: 19 Place de la République.

In the 4th: 5 rue du Renard.

In the 5th: 65 boulevard Saint Michel; 98 boulevard Saint Germain; 2 boulevard de l'Hôpital.

In the 6th: 166 rue de Rennes.

In the 8th: 84 avenue des Champs Elysées; 140 avenue des Champs Elysées; 119 rue Saint Lazare.

In the 9th: 20 boulevard Montmartre; 34 boulevard des Italiens; 2 boulevard Poissonière; 40 boulevard Haussmann; 96 rue de Provence; 73 rue de Caumartin; 10 Place de Clichy; 65 rue Lafayette.

In the 10th: 29 rue du Faubourg du Temple; 84 boulevard Magenta; 25 rue de Dunkerque.

In the 11th: 130 boulevard Voltaire; 88 bis rue Parmentier; 4 boulevard Richard Lenoir; 1 boulevard de Belleville/159 rue Oberkampf.

In the 12th: 80 rue Traversière; 116 boulevard Diderot; 282 avenue Daumesnil.

In the 13th: 2 boulevard Arago; 84 rue Nationale; 211/213 boulevard Vincent Auriol; 30 avenue d'Italie; 82-84 avenue d'Italie.

In the 14th: 5 avenue du Général Leclerc; 71 avenue du Général Leclerc.

In the 15th: 1 rue du Commerce; 192 rue de la Convention; 48 rue Linois; 4-6 rue Louis Armand.

In the 16th: Place de Passy; 131 avenue Victor Hugo; 234, avenue de Versailles.

In the 17th: 57 avenue de Clichy; 11 avenue de Wagram; 145 avenue de Villiers.

In the 18th: 18-20 boulevard de Clichy; 62 boulevard Ornano; 77 boulevard Ornano; 2 rue d'Orsel; 6 rue de la Chapelle.

In the 19th: 2 avenue Secrétan; 87 avenue de Flandre; 1 avenue Simon Bolivar; 208 avenue Jean Jaurès; 353 rue de Belleville.

In the 20th: 111 Cours de Vincennes; 67 boulevard Davout; 7 Place Gambetta; 49 rue Belgrand.

How ironic that there is no McDo in the 7th, which everyone swears is overrun with Americans..

There isn't a Monoprix close to Ave Rapp and St Dominique, either, but there are multiple Franprix and other similar stores on St Dominque and Rue Cler. I wasn't looking for Coke Light so I can't say if they have any or not.

In most of the cafes in that area, cokes (and coke lite) is served/sold by the bottle tather than dispensed from a fountain. It's often served with one or two regular ice cubes, not crushed ice a la McD.
If you need a lot more fizz, about the only solution I can think of is buying some of the ultra fizzy waters and adding some to your coke lite. (Ex: Spa Rouge, is very highly carbonated, and just a little bit might perk up your coke without diluting the flavor).
Or, I guess, you could experiment by plopping in an Aspirine C (fizzy aspirin with very little taste) and seeing if that revs up the coke a bit.

I first really noticed folks drinking soft drinks, including "diet" ones, at breakfast time when I was in graduate school and taking meals in one of the school's dining rooms. I remember being rather fascinated by it and thinking I could never do it.

That was back in the 1970's so apparently the behavior hasn't changed in a while.

Dukey - I had occasion to eat breakfast (Sunday brunch) in a student cafeteria at a Florida University. The trend now seems to be to sports drinks - yes even at breakfast. All the students were carrying bottles.
Might I add they didn't all look to be the athletic types. In fact one of the cold drink dispensers was filled with the puke-green liquid.
It was difficult to find a cup of coffee.
"De gustibus non est disputandum"

Thanks guys for all of the responses.... looks like I will buy some Coca Light at the Franprix for regular consumption, and if I find a fountain soda dispenser somewhere it will just be an added bonus!!

Hi St.C,

>Diet Coke in the morning? Wow! Who would've thought that many people started the day like that?<

Down here in the South, many folks start with a regular coke, RC or Dr. Pepper before morning coffee.

We also went to mickey d's in paris - during the 2003 heatwave, it was the only place that served 'maxi' sized drinks with ice! You'll find them all over and don't worry, we saw more french citizens there than tourists!

i have no idea if they have fountain drinks or not but it would likely be easier to find one of the French fast food burger places (they are around), instead of looking for a McD's.

actually they must, now that i think of it... what made me mention them was i got a cup of ice for some reason somewhere along the way (near my hotel in the 5th).

I've been in there a couple times and think they do have fountain drinks. What they have may not match your expectations, though, I don't know -- about all this carbonation thing in comparison to canned. I don't drink soft drinks, so don't really know about all that.

Actually, I think it would be easier to find a McDonalds than some French fast-food burger place, as there are a lot more McDonalds. I don't even know of any French ones -- there is Quick, but I think that is Belgian, not sure, but there aren't that many of them compared to McDonalds, anyway, and none in the 7th, either. There is a Quick in the 15th, also, on bd Vaugirard near Montparnasse station. There is a McDonalds over there, also, on rue de Rennes a block or two north of the gare.

They might have fountain drinks at some of those fast-food places that sell some sandwiches as well as breakfast food, but I'm not sure (I'm thinking of Brioche Doree, Pomme de Pain, places like that). A lot of the more casual fast-food type places (or faster, anyway)or cafes do only serve drinks in bottles or cans, I think. There is a Lina's Sandwiches in the 7th, that's about one of the few fast food types places in that arrondisement, but they serve bottled drinks. I don't think fountain soft drinks are really that common.

<<Down here in the South, many folks start with a regular coke, RC or Dr. Pepper before morning coffee.>>

ira - is that what those guys have in the big can in the paper bag, exiting from 7-11 at any time of the day including morning?

well, what a fascinating thread.

not sure how many brits start the day with a coke or a Dr. P!!!

myself and DH, we are still using the teasmaid we purchased about 20 years ago - it makes a pot of tea every morning without us having to get out of bed.

did this wonderful machine [made by Goblin] ever make it across the pond?

regards, ann

Regarding Quick: "Aujourd’hui, Quick est toujours leader en Belgique et au Luxembourg (65 % du march&eacute, et est devenu le challenger unique en France (avec 28,5 % du march&eacute."

In any case, Quick bought out Burger King in France in 1997, so it has some muscle. 292 restaurants in France (1085 McDonald's restaurants).

Am I the only person who tastes no difference among Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Light or Coco-Coca Zero? Even the Coke company admitted that "Diet/Light Coke" was marketed as a women's or girly-man drink and Coca-Cola Zero is for real men with something down there (probably a pot gut).

My own current favorite (hypermarkets only) is Coca-Cola Light Sango (with blood orange flavoring).

hi, kerouac,

no, you are not alone in finding that they all taste the same - revolting.

The only explanation I can think of for their mass and repeated consumption is that there is indeed something addictive in them, as the OP suggests.

regards, ann

What's wrong with liking one or the other? Some of you might find the Coke or Diet Coke or Coke Light revolting and others (like me) find the smell and taste of coffee revolting. It doesn't make either of us right or wrong, just different.

There is indeed something addictive (in addition to the caffeine) in Diet Coke and other diet drinks - it's aspartame, which is highly addictive. Just Google it!