[wintorez]

Not surprised by this, but very surprised to learn that MacDonald’s is very popular in France. I expected the opposite.

[bandrami]

For a long time French chefs didn't really "get" burgers. The model of a sandwich as a full meal doesn't really mesh well with French culinary theory and so it took foreign restaurants to build an audience (French burgers have since caught up and then some).

I still dream of getting the seed capital to start my beach burger shack, The Burgers of Calais...

[pcrh]

Indeed. It was only after having lived in the US for a few years that I realized Americans actually considered burgers a "meal".

For most who grew up in the French or similar culinary traditions, a burger was more like a snack, perhaps comparable to a bag of chips (crisps).

[QuesnayJr]

Agreed on the "and then some". These days the burgers in France are much superior to the burgers in the UK (unless you go to Quick or something).

[Const-me]

In Montenegro, McDonald’s has failed back in 2003, albeit at a small scale. McDonald’s also failed in Macedonia in 2013, this time the scale was non-trivial, 7 restaurants.

We have a similar traditional dish in this region, IMO better than McDonald’s burgers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pljeskavica

[brnt]

The reason is not the food, but the opening hours and the lack of decorum. (French places have narrow opening hours usually either 12-14 or 7-10-ish.)

"Come as you are" has been their slogan for a long time. No need to dress up, be fancy, no, just sit down whenever you need to grab a bite.

Damn, I sound like I drank the koolaid. I really only go there because I know they have coffee all day on the go and I like to be about.

[willyt]

I often get caught out by this in France because I usually eat a late lunch in the UK and France is 1 hour ahead. You are cutting it fine if you start trying to find somewhere to eat at 1:30pm and by 2pm you’ve had it, game over. Suddenly the only option is Macdonalds and you know you’ve failed when you’re eating a lukewarm burger in a slightly seedy fast food restaurant; for some reason every time I’ve ended up in a Macdonalds in France it was pretty dirty.

[Fire-Dragon-DoL]

McDonald's changes the recipes based in the country. In Italy you can find sandwiches with prosciutto and parmesan and they often use different buns than the soft, sugary ones.

[LargoLasskhyfv]

Japan: Teriyaki McBurger

https://www.mcdonalds.co.jp/en/products/4530/

[usrusr]

Food places sell identity more than anything. Food quality just needs to be good enough to somewhat fulfill expectations implied by the price range. "We're an American behemoth selling a mockery of your national identity" certainly won't have it easy in Italy, no matter how well the pizza might be (never tried, I don't find that identity particularly appealing even as German visiting the United States). MacDonald's in France won't have any issue with identity: if you do feel like having factory food, what better match could there be? MacD certainly does not pretend being something it's not.