McDo en France

When we first came to France, we were fairly embarrassed to be associated with certain well-known American brands (including politicians, not that we're naming names). One example of such a brand is of course McDonald's -- or McDo, as it's sometimes known here -- and as a result we had the idea that we would avoid eating there at all costs.

Perhaps it's having lived here for half a year, but we've softened quite a bit in our previous stance, as we demonstrated on our recent trip to Strasbourg by eating at McDo two (!) times in three days. In the US, we appreciate McDonald's when traveling because (a) the children know and like it, and (b) the playlands are great.

It turns out that the same features are also true of the French version. We made one of our McDo stops this vacation during a long car trip in order to take advantage of the playland (see photo). Furthermore, it's now possible to get fruit and veggie packs with kids' meals (witness the p'tites tomates and the fruits croquer in the first picture). Also child-size Évians, of course.

Finally, we found this message written on the door of the French McDo to be interestingly un-American: "Pour votre santé, évitez de grignoter entre les repas." (For your health, avoid snacking between meals.) We see this message quite a bit in France -- on television commercials for junk food, for instance -- so we think it might be a legal requirement.