You Want Fries With That 18th Century Masterpiece?
Just another sign of the apocalypse in my mind.
News has recently been released that McDonald’s is opening a restaurant and McCafé (sorry, cute names will not make this more “palatable’) near the Louvre next month. This news is causing me and many others considerable distress, indigestion….whatever you want to call it.
For those of you who have never been to the Louvre, there is an underground mall called the Carrousel du Louvre (map) which can be accessed before or after your visit to the museum depending on where you enter. Here you will find shops not too unlike a more upscale mall in the states and a food court which is apparently where this McDonald’s will be located. Since I have never used the food court, it is unlikely that I will ever actually see this offensive fast food addition. So why the fuss for me?
It just doesn’t belong there. If you want to visit France, you visit France. You eat their food (fast or otherwise), drink their wine, play by their rules. That’s what discovering a new part of the world is all about. Otherwise, why venture beyond your own back yard. Stay home and grab a bag of burgers at the local drive-thru. My heart broke when last year a Starbucks opened up in a much more offensive location at the Louvre….just beyond the security check as you enter from the lower level; we’re talking practically in the museum. I just let out a great big UGH on that one.
Since McDonald’s, in my mind is pretty much everything that is wrong with the way we live our lives in the states, my most recent UGH was even louder.
Photo credit: wikipedia
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2 Comments
I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this. There are just so many other delicious choices as far as food in Paris, that I just can’t see buying anything at McD’s. Maybe a soft drink in an emergency, okay, but it just seems so wrong.
Kim, you hit it right on the head. The tourists that walk into a European McDonalds are the same ones who should have just stayed home. The one possible exception is to use their restroom.