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If you ever wondered what a McDonald's looks like in France...

When I was a kid, France was waging a culture war against fast food chains being allowed into their country. There was a big push, or at least a push that was being made a big deal of here, to force them to use only french words for food on their menus.
 
I couldn't get the link to work... but since I've visited one... I can't say it was bad. It was better in some ways. Automated kiosks for the win.
 
I couldn't get the link to work... but since I've visited one... I can't say it was bad. It was better in some ways. Automated kiosks for the win.

I fixed the link, it should work now ;)

Quite disappointed/très déçu that there is no mention in that article of a royale, avec or sans cheese:


Could our fellow female-foot fetishist Quentin Tarantino have lied to us? Nah, c'est ridicule; he's probably a clandestine member of the TMF too, and nobody here ever makes anything up.

Lol. Actually after I watched Pulp Fiction for the 1st time (I am too young to have watched it in theaters, so I saw it on TV when I was 15), I went to a MacD to check if they had that a Royal. Unfortunately they did not; it seems it has been discontinued, although I heard they roll it out infrequently for a limited amount of time. Le Big Mac is still the most popular item in France ;)

I almost never go to MacDonald's, neither in France nor in Beijing. When I feel like having a burger, I usually go to my favorite Irish pub; they make a killer spicy burger and I can get a huge pint of Guinness with it, yummy!

As for Tarantino... guys, just imagine if he had a tickling fetish on top of his foot fetish! Can you imagine the kind of movies he'd make? :xpulcy: I'll cut him some slack though, his films are already awesome as they are (although I did not like the last ones). Ned, have you seen that interview when French journalist Daphné Roulier literally offered her bare feet to him? I think it was in Cannes. She took off her shoes, placed her feet on his lap, and told him he could do whatever he wanted with them as long as the interview lasted. I felt so happy for him :cool: You can look it up on Youtube if you haven't seen it.

When I was a kid, France was waging a culture war against fast food chains being allowed into their country. There was a big push, or at least a push that was being made a big deal of here, to force them to use only french words for food on their menus.

You are absolutely right. French people used to be very protective about their cultural heritage. There are remnants of this in the anti-globalization movement, but sadly this fight has been mostly lost. A generation of idiots has been bred since the late 80's by the even bigger idiots who opposed De Gaulle in the late 60's, and now most people bow to free market and the Golden Arches. What can I say, the only thing that allows evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.

One thing came to pass though: the obligation for McD and other fast-food brands to use local products. Back in France, regulations on food are the toughest in the world; we have extensive labels and regulations on meat and vegetables that makes most American-grown food illegal to sell there. It gets the American food companies really mad, but that's how we remain (relatively) healthy. Even when eating at MacDonalds, haha (did anyone say "French paradox?) :blaugh:
 
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Damn those french. Getting all those gourmet big macs! On their fancy pancy begets!
 
I'm glad to read that McDonald's is doing well in France. I have heard that they are having declining sales here in the USA.
 
I'm glad to read that McDonald's is doing well in France. I have heard that they are having declining sales here in the USA.

Compared to burgers like Red Robins, Chilis, and even Ruby Tuesdays the food of McDonalds, Wendy's, and Burger King's are LAUGHABLE!

They really need to step up the quality of their food.
 
As for Tarantino....Ned, have you seen that interview when French journalist Daphné Roulier literally offered her bare feet to him? I think it was in Cannes. She took off her shoes, placed her feet on his lap, and told him he could do whatever he wanted with them as long as the interview lasted. I felt so happy for him :cool: You can look it up on Youtube if you haven't seen it.

Found it, and how could I not share with the rest of the class:


Gotta give our normally spasmodic American auteur some credit for maintaining his composure; like at 0:42, I can imagine him totally gobsmacked inside, like he can't believe this is really happening. But easy to get him back on autopilot discussing his flick-making.

The kind of scene that sets alight fantasies of my own. What's French for classy mature babealicious?
 
Found it, and how could I not share with the rest of the class:


Gotta give our normally spasmodic American auteur some credit for maintaining his composure; like at 0:42, I can imagine him totally gobsmacked inside, like he can't believe this is really happening. But easy to get him back on autopilot discussing his flick-making.

The kind of scene that sets alight fantasies of my own. What's French for classy mature babealicious?

Er... I think we say MILF :blaugh: No, really! Another example of the American imperium on our language, like my father would say :rolleyes: But if you want to pronounce it the French way you gotta say "Meelf", with a long "i" since the French are spontaneously unable to tell the difference between a long and a short "i". For example, most French cannot differenciate the words bin and a bean. Or more funnily, a beach and a bitch. I am talking about the dog of course, we are after all entre gens bien éduqués :D

Seriously, good find, Ned! Don't worry it set alight other people's fantasies, yours truly included. In fact, I think you should post it in a dedicated thread. It would show people how awesome French people can be, and it will give hope to those of us who are depressed.

Daphné Roulier later explained in a debriefing of this awesome interview that it was not her idea. It was suggested to her by an intern (no, no, it wasn't me! :blush:), and she gladly went along with it because she thought it was fun, provocative and original. She also said she'd do it again :wub:
 
...if you want to pronounce it the French way you gotta say "Meelf", with a long "i" since the French are spontaneously unable to tell the difference between a long and a short "i". For example, most French cannot differenciate the words bin and a bean. Or more funnily, a beach and a bitch. I am talking about the dog of course, we are after all entre gens bien éduqués :D

This calls to mind the story of an Anglophone in Québec who was amazed at how much French speakers there seemed to be venting their anger at someone named "Kris." He wondered what this poor guy or gal Kris could have done to make people so mad, to have apparently f*cked up so often and so royally.

Turns out these folk were just using the common expletive Christ!, which in standard French rhymes with English priest but due to the frequent de-laxing of i (normally "ee" as in "meelf" as mentioned) the vowel can sound like a "short" i in Canadian French, as indeed just like in the first syllable of English Christmas. And for good measure, final consonant clusters are often simplified in colloquial Québecois--especially for "swear" words, of which religious-based terms like Christ make up an uncomfortably large proportion--with the result that what our clueless traveler was hearing was indeed something that could be transcribed as Chriss!

A sorry-not-sorry for all the technical linguistic verbiage. Feel free to cuss me out too like "Kris."
 
Been to one in Paris. The only one without Golden Arches in the entire world.
 
Been to one in Paris. The only one without Golden Arches in the entire world.

Not sure if it's the only one. Many cities (including Beijing where I reside), have policies against such displays as the Golden Arches, because they think it damages the architectural harmony of the location.
 
This calls to mind the story of an Anglophone in Québec who was amazed at how much French speakers there seemed to be venting their anger at someone named "Kris." He wondered what this poor guy or gal Kris could have done to make people so mad, to have apparently f*cked up so often and so royally.

Turns out these folk were just using the common expletive Christ!, which in standard French rhymes with English priest but due to the frequent de-laxing of i (normally "ee" as in "meelf" as mentioned) the vowel can sound like a "short" i in Canadian French, as indeed just like in the first syllable of English Christmas. And for good measure, final consonant clusters are often simplified in colloquial Québecois--especially for "swear" words, of which religious-based terms like Christ make up an uncomfortably large proportion--with the result that what our clueless traveler was hearing was indeed something that could be transcribed as Chriss!

A sorry-not-sorry for all the technical linguistic verbiage. Feel free to cuss me out too like "Kris."

Haha, Ned, thank you for this! It's actually quite hilarious :laughhard: And also, usually I have these anecdotes from the French side of things, so it's nice to see one from the American side, for a change! ;)

Here in Beijing, there's a word that many Blacks find slightly annoying. It's "那个", which is a colloquial word to express hesitation like your "er..." and unfortunately sounds like the ill-famed "n-word", like you guys say. I wonder if it ever caused trouble; on can imagine that ill-informed yet rightfully mad African Americans could have started brawls with the locals.
 
After checking the article, I wish we had these kinds of French-style McD's here. I've been to France before, several cities, but didn't go to McD's of course, because I didn't go to France to eat American food. Now I know better!
 
After checking the article, I wish we had these kinds of French-style McD's here. I've been to France before, several cities, but didn't go to McD's of course, because I didn't go to France to eat American food. Now I know better!

I'd still advise not to go, because as someone pointed out, McD's food is terrible even for a fast food standard. France has plenty of nice places to eat at, burger joints included, enough not to bother visiting Ronald. However yes, it can be an experience to visit a totally different McDonald's once. I know there is a guy out there who has a blog in which he describes his visits to McDonald's around the whole world. I believe his favorite was in Thailand.

I agree with you though: it'd be awesome if McD had some kind of an "exotic" line of restaurants in the US, which would be "foreign-style" like the ones they have in France or Japan. I am sure there would be a clientèle for that.
 
Haha, Ned, thank you for this! It's actually quite hilarious :laughhard: And also, usually I have these anecdotes from the French side of things, so it's nice to see one from the American side, for a change! ;)

Thanks, Tenebrae. But actually I screwed up--or as I believe one would say colorfully in Québec, m'sus mardé (literally, 'I shat myself')--in calling the change from long to short i "de-laxing" when in fact it would be the opposite, that is, "short" vowels are the ones that are lax. I guess I was mixing the term up with de-lengthening, which would have been right for this case. Man, this getting old and senile stuff sure is no beach; Kris!

Here in Beijing, there's a word that many Blacks find slightly annoying. It's "那个", which is a colloquial word to express hesitation like your "er..." and unfortunately sounds like the ill-famed "n-word", like you guys say.

Yes, a detailed and fascinating account of this Mandarin word can be found here.

I wonder if it ever caused trouble; on can imagine that ill-informed yet rightfully mad African Americans could have started brawls with the locals.

Not sure, but just a few days ago I saw a somewhat related story, and naturally I gravitated toward this geekier take on it.
 
Thanks, Tenebrae. But actually I screwed up--or as I believe one would say colorfully in Québec, m'sus mardé (literally, 'I shat myself')--in calling the change from long to short i "de-laxing" when in fact it would be the opposite, that is, "short" vowels are the ones that are lax. I guess I was mixing the term up with de-lengthening, which would have been right for this case. Man, this getting old and senile stuff sure is no beach; Kris!

Haha, ce n'est pas grave! We all make mistakes and I have never studied linguistics so I hadn't noticed. But I appreciate you took the time to correct your post, because I might have started to misuse those terms as well ;)



Yes, a detailed and fascinating account of this Mandarin word can be found here.



Not sure, but just a few days ago I saw a somewhat related story, and naturally I gravitated toward this geekier take on it.

Good find! I use Wechat daily, but I either write directly in English or Chinese; thus I never use the in-built translation tool. If you ask me, this little blunder is quite funny, but I can understand how it got some people mad.

As for the infamous 那个, it is just an unfortunate coincidence. Trans-language homophones can be downright weird or funny. In Chinese, the word "desert" 沙漠 sounds almost exactly the same as the French word for "camel" chameau :laughhard: I can't think of an English one right now, but I'll let you know when I do. Thanks for being so knowledgeable and fun, Ned!

:gbtoast:
 
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