WHY DID FRANCE FALL IN LOVE WITH McDONALD'S?

Cheeseburger Royale...

Whisper it quietly, but McDonald's is doing rather well in France. In fact, for the last three years "McDo" as the Parisians have it, has posted double-digit growth on average, culminating in profits of around €3bn from 2006-7. So how did the land of cordon bleu come to love the golden arches?

"It has been tough for us to become integrated in the French market," admits Eric Gravier, vice-president, corporate affairs, of McDonald's France. "The focus we had at the beginning was to open more stores and to get suppliers, and we were attacked because we had this image of globalisation."

To dispel this, says Gravier, French McDonald's restaurants have dropped the "flashy yellow and red and lights" and become "a cosy place with nice, warm colours with free wireless, where you might like to stay for an hour."

As well as removing the "fast", McDonald's France has also changed the "food" element. In addition to the familiar Big Macs and french fries (for obvious reasons they're not called french fries in McDo) there are some more Gallic-friendly offerings: salads, local cheeses, yoghurts, fruit compotes and, of course, croques monsieurs. However, it's the Royal Deluxe that Gravier says sums up the way the McDonald's concept has been translated so successfully into French.

"It's not a gourmet burger but it's a big slice of beef with an old-fashioned mustard sauce, which is stronger than the standard English or American sauces and closer to the traditional French mustard tastes. It was only introduced as a test, but it's never been off the menu and it's second only to the Big Mac now."

So there you have it, if you want to make a splash in the French food market, beef up your mustard.