Day 3086 (Wednesday) 19th November 2025

This is Villefranche in the old days – it really hasn’t changed at all.

Huw had to work this morning and he said it was really cold first thing. It stayed cold all day and I shut the French doors for the first time during the day. There was a cruise ship in the bay so the passengers didn’t have the best day to visit but at least it didn’t rain.

This article is a real worry…

'Real public health challenge' - France now has more fast-food outlets than restaurants

A consumer eats at a McDonald's on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, on March 18, 2024. Photo by Julie SEBADELHA / AFP

The French love of fast food is a poorly kept secret, but now the country officially has more fast-food outlets than it does traditional restaurants, something of increasing concern to both local and national officials.

France is a dichotomy - its 'gastronomic tradition' is classified as a piece of intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO, but at the same time the country has long been the world's second biggest market for McDonald's (after the US). 

Fast food restaurants, including long-established American chains such as McDonald's and Burger King or more recent arrivals like Krispy Kreme, are increasingly successful in France. 

Between 2019 and 2023, fast food sales increased by 30 percent, exceeding €20 billion for the first time in 2023, according to a study by Food Service Vision. Among the products that are doing well are hamburgers, fried chicken, pizza, and more recently, tacos and doughnuts. 

On the other hand, the number of traditional restaurants where customers sit down to eat has fallen by 6 percent in the same period, with more and more restaurant owners speaking out about how hard it is to make a living.

Data from Banque de France found that 7,200 restaurants closed in 2023, a 44 percent increase in closures compared to 2022.

It's not just about competition - customer habits also seem to be shifting. In the summer of 2024, attendance at 'traditional' restaurants dropped between 15 to 20 percent, according to the UMIH, a union representing those in the restaurant and hotel industry.

The tipping point has now been reached, with the number of fast-food outlets now outstripping the number of traditional restaurants in France.

Super-tax plans

The issue came back into the news this week with the proposal to charge a flat rate tax of €50,000 on any new fast-food outlet - or €100,000 if they are opening with 300m of a school - followed by a yearly €10,000 tax, on top of the usual business taxes paid by foot outlets.

The proposal, put forward as a Budget amendment by the Green party, specifically targets franchise outlets - eg McDonald's, Burger King or French Tacos - and therefore would not affect independent fast-food shops such as kebab shops. 

The law is only a proposal at this stage and may not survive the budget's turbulent journey through parliament, but the MPs proposing it are clear that its aim is to curb the proliferation of fast food outlets, "which pose real public health challenges."

They add that the amendment also comes at a time when "failures in the traditional restaurant sector have reached historically high levels. In terms of number of restaurants, traditional restaurants have now been overtaken by fast food restaurants."

Long-standing trend

The growth of fast food consumption has been an ongoing trend since the 1970s when the first McDonald's opened in France, explained Laure Ducos, expert on the political and environmental issues surrounding food and author of the book Les frites viennent des patates. Dans les coulisses de notre alimentation et de l'agro-industrie (Fries come from potatoes: Behind the scenes of our food and the agro-industry), in an interview with France Info. 

"Since 2021, the number of fast food outlets in France has exceeded the number of traditional restaurants," Ducos said. 

"We live in a society that is moving faster and faster, cooking less and less, and wanting things to be convenient and easy."

Lower prices are also more appealing. "The average bill at McDonald's is €12 or €13 and can rise to €15 in some slightly more upmarket fast food chains. It's not cheap either, but it's still much more affordable than a traditional restaurant, where the average bill is around €20," said Ducos. 

French business paper Les Echos, pointed out that McDonald's has tried to adapt its meals to more demanding French clients: "75 percent of ingredients are French, fresh bread, table service, new meals every month... The arsenal is very broad.

"France has also become the country for new launches, with the M and the Mc Baguette, two sandwiches with a distinctly French flavour, as well as the 280 and the Deluxe, with its characteristic mustard sauce," wrote the newspaper.

Target for expansion

US chains have been pursuing an aggressive expansion policy in France, with McDonald's revealing earlier this year that its aim to for "everyone in France to have a McDonald's within 20 minutes of their home".

The expansion plan targets French villages, with plans for up to 50 new outlets over the next year. 

Other US chains are entering the French market with Krispy Kreme, Five Guys and fried chicken outlet Popeyes all expanding here.

McDonald's already has a huge presence in France, with 1,560 restaurants - streets ahead of its nearest US rivals Burger King and KFC which have 532 and 400 respectively. 

Then there are the homegrown chains, including the hugely popular O'Tacos.

The fightback

The proposed tax amendment is not the only fightback, petitions are sprouting all over the country arguing against McDonald's opening new restaurants in small towns.

On a brighter note  - France remains home to the highest number of Michelin star restaurants in the world: 639 in 2024.