McDonald’s to Open at Louvre

Do you want frites with that? Bien sûr, France is as famous for its fine art as it is for its haute cuisine, so there is quite an uproar over plans to open a McDonald’s restaurant and McCafé next month in the Carrousel du Louvre, underneath the famed museum. America’s fast-food temple has been infiltrating France for three decades and will celebrate its 30th year by unveiling its Gallic location, outlet No. 1142, just a few yards from the entrance to the crown jewel of France’s art world. Museum staffers are angry. “This is the last straw,” said one art historian working at the Louvre, who declined to be named. “This is the pinnacle of exhausting consumerism, deficient gastronomy and very unpleasant odors in the context of a museum.” The Louvre had the right to protest the McDonald’s, and the museum stated that it had “agreed to a ‘quality’ McCafé’ which it said was is in line with the museum’s image.”