Fast Food Reigns in France

In the 1990s, France became the second-largest market for McDonald’s after the U.S., and now the fast-food domination is complete: fast-food receipts in France have surpassed those of traditional restaurants for the first time. The stats, as well as lurid media reports of restaurants heating up frozen food in place of traditional cuisine, has prompted one lawmaker to propose requiring restaurants to label products that are fait maison (house-made). But while France may have learned to love Big Macs, most of what’s considered “fast food” is traditional sandwiches made by small boulangeries, or bakeries, that have capitalized on the need for quick lunches.