Things are getting all kinds of quelle horreur and mon dieu in France right now, where fast food restaurants have officially overtaken formal restaurants. French food consultancy firm Gira Conseil finds that fast food restaurants now account for 54 percent of the market share, which The Telegraph notes is "a huge jump from 2011, when fast food only claimed 40 per cent of overall market share." Indeed, this is the first time fast food has grabbed more than half of the market share.
So is it because of all the novelty sandwiches that French people are consuming, from the McCamembert to the Darth Vader burgers? Well, yes and no. Gira Conseil's Julien Jeanneau explains that the problem has gotten so much worse, saying, "Before it was mainly sandwiches and hamburgers, today an array of thematic outlets offering salads, bagels or kebabs are strangling traditional restaurants."
But it's not just salads and bagels that are to blame. French people are part of the problem now that they are no longer lingering over their three-course lunches during the workday. Gira also found that France's average lunch time "has dropped from an hour and 20 minutes in 1975 to half an hour today." French workers are also bringing takeout to their desks at lunch, which is a clear sign of the decline of civilized society. Bonne chance, France.
· Fast food overtakes traditional cuisine in France for the first time [The Telegraph]
· All France Coverage on Eater [-E-]