McDonald’s has confirmed that they will be opening a branch in Paris just steps from the entrance of the Louvre Museum, in the underground stonewalled ‘Carrousel du Louvre‘ (here).
More shocking than McDonald’s ballsy nerve in infiltrating one of the world’s greatest cultural bastions with burgers and fries is that the French surrendered! (Hmm… actually, I guess French surrendering isn’t too shocking.) They buckled under a Blitzkrieg of burger and milkshake!
If the French weren’t sufficiently repulsed by idea of the world’s preeminent symbol of capitalism, industrialism, and consumerism casting a garish red and yellow glow upon the world’s preeminent symbol of art, culture, and sublimity, then surely the thought of sweaty Americans making burger pitstops on their way to snap a picture of the Mona Lisa would have caused them to reconsider?
Mr. P has a typically French view of McDonald’s. He fears the societal effects of fast food and he dreads the thought that his native country’s cuisine and eating habits are becoming more like those of his adopted country. But that wouldn’t stop him from going to McDonald’s if it was lunchtime and if it was convenient. The fact is, even though the French are scornful over the idea of McDonald’s, many of them still go to McDonald’s. It’s hot, cheap, fast, tasty food, and while they would vastly prefer sitting around a table for 3 hours for a 6-course meal, there’s just not enough hours in the day. Not if you want to keep your mistress happy, anyway.
So, think about this: If you go to the Louvre and you’re hungry, the less time that you spend eating, the more time you have to explore the museum. Bourgogne, terrine, and morbier may be cultural achievements in their own right, but they can’t really compete with the priceless antiquities, tapestries, painting, and sculpture within the Louvre. So in fact, if you really love fine art, you’d skip the lackadaisical service as the brasseries and bistros, and grab a le p’tit poivre at McDonald’s.
