When American-style fast food began to “invade” France in the late 1970s, it was deemed to be a passing fad, not able to catch on to sacrosanct traditions of leisurely French dining. How could a 20-minute hamburger & coke possibly supplant a 2-hour, 3-course lunch? Fast-forward thirty years: fast food has not gone away. It has proliferated. Surprisingly, even the French have changed and embraced sloppy food habits, falling victim in the process to some of the same ills Americans have once food becomes available 24/7.
The French press has written extensively about the rise of obesity amongst the usually-trim French, and has long railed that the strong French tradition of family dining and convivial meals has gradually dissipated in the face of “la malbouffe” (junk food). French fast food seems to be gaining popularity still. The stories in the press point to an increasing lack of food awareness in a nation that prides itself on its culinary traditions. The most recent and serious attack has come from Xavier Denamur, a disenchanted French chef, owner of a classic brasserie in the trendy Marais district, who saw the lowering of the 19.6% sales tax on food to a mere 5.5% as a political move by then-president Nicolas Sarkozy to salvage votes from the extreme right. The result, Denamur felt, was a devaluing of the relatively high standards of food production in France. To make his point, Denamur teamed up with director Jacques Goldstein to produce a forceful documentary against the widespread harm of junk food; “La République de la Malbouffe” is roiling the French food establishment. Watch the trailer HERE:
MacDo anyone?
Leave a Reply