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McDonald's France plans for Louvre location offend some
October 5, 2009
McDonald's France's plans to open a restaurant and McCafé near the Louvre museum next month has raised the ire of those who treasure the country's haute cuisine and fine art, including museum staff, according to a story in the Daily Telegraph. The restaurant will be located in the underground approach to the Louvre, known as the Carrousel du Louvre.
According to the Daily Telegraph:
The stonewalled gallery was opened in 1993, five years after the famous Louvre pyramid. The Carrousel's initial remit stipulated that its "commercial activities will be regulated and restricted to cultural or tourist activities."The Louvre has the right to protest against boutiques it considers fail to meet such criteria. However, the museum told the Daily Telegraph it had agreed to a "quality" McCaf̩ and a McDonald's in place by the end of the year, which it said was "is in line with the museum's image"...However, even if there were a last-minute u-turn at the Louvre, statistics suggest the battle of Le Big Macs has already been lost. France has become McDonald's biggest market in the world outside of the U.S., according to the chain. While business in traditional brasseries and bistros is in freefall, the fast food group opened 30 new outlets last year in France and welcomed 450 million customers Рup 11 percent on the previous year.
Last month, the chain announced plans to become the No. 1 coffeehouse in Europe, with 200 stores set to open this year, including locations in France.According to a story in the Guardian, Parisian authorities have previously refused McDonald's locations at least one other famous sites, banning a store under the Eiffel Tower in 1993.
However, several other counties have allowed McDonald's and other brands to locate near their popular cultural sites, including a McDonald's located underneath the Museum of Communism in Prague. Last September, the chain opened a store in Peru on Cusco's Plaza de Armas, considered one of the 60 great places in the world. That store made one concession for the sake of cultural preservation, a more discreet brown M replaced its iconic neon yellow one.
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