Letter From Paris
Paris Kiosque - September 2000 - Volume 7, Number 9
Copyright (c) 2000 Harriet Welty-Rochefort - Used with permission.
Bovémania hits France
Paris -- In the USA, a Big Mac is something to eat. In France it is the
living symbol of everything the French repudiate, despise and scorn about
the U.S. The French shrug their collective Gallic shoulders at this THING
between a bun, this industrialized piece of meat measured to the millimeter
and scrunched in between two pieces of white sponge no self-respecting
baguette eater would deign to touch. The Big Mac stands for everything
the French think they are not when it comes to food: tasteless and in a
hurry.
When French farmers became fed up with the U.S. boycott of Roquefort and
foie gras in retaliation for the French refusal of U.S. meat with hormones
last summer, what did they attack? You guessed it =AD a McDonald's. Led by
mustachioed pipe-smoking José Bové (alias"magic José") nine farmers from
the Conféderation Paysanne "dismantled" a McDonald's under construction and
took collective responsibility for this act of "civil disobedience". The
judge saw the act as just plain illegal. Still, had she not not put
handcuffs on Bové, the affair might have been a twenty second spot on the
nightly news. Seizing the occasion, our favorite French sheep
farmer/intellectual triumphantly brandished this badge of honor in the face
of the TV cameras and a movement was born. Asterix against globalization!
Asterix against la malbouffe (garbage food)!
Being for Bové is like being against Bill Gates. It's really pretty easy.
Since I'm not exactly a Microsoft fan, it stands to reason that I'm for
Bové, n'est-ce-pas? I LOVE the guy. A few months ago I sat across the
table from him at an early morning press conference. The thing that struck
me the most about this English-speaking French folk hero is that he strolled
into the breakfast sans press attaché. I have NEVER seen any French
politician or Famous Person, no matter how low on the totem pole,
unaccompanied by a press attaché (or several of them). Bravo Bové!
I also love the guy because if one day all the McDonalds in France
disappeared I would never have to say "hamburger" again. Can YOU pronounce
"hamburger" in French? "J aimerais un HAWM BOOR GUHR s'il vous plâit ".
Très difficile.
In spite of all the lamenting about globalization, it looks like the HAWM
BOOR GURH is here to stay. Why? The French like them! Last year eighty
McDonald's opened in France bringing the total number of golden arches to
790 in 410 towns! Mon Dieu! French soccer star, goalkeeper Fabien Barthez,
actually KISSES a Big Mac in an ad for McDonalds. (Another popular French
soccer hero, Zinedine Zidane, at least had the decency to sign with Volvic
spring water, a nice French brand. Thanks Zizou!).
Other than Barthez and his ilk, a lot of Frenchmen are rooting for "La Bové
Pride" and the continuing battle of their national Asterix. As my
chauvinistic French husband said: "It's great. It reminds me of the good
old days when we were defeating the Romans."
Harriet Welty-Rochefort, a bona fide Midwesterner from
Iowa, visited Paris for the first time while in
college. She became so completely enamored of
France that she stayed - and has been there ever since.
Married to a Frenchman and the mother of two
Franco-American boys, Harriet Welty-Rochefort writes
on business, lifestyle and travel for major U.S.
publications. Her book -
French Toast
- is a lighthearted look at
French manners and mores.
Writes Leslie Caron: French Toast includes the most delightful barbs at France's
subtle but deep-rooted codes of behaviour...I read the book on the EuroStar between
Paris and London and wished the train had not reached its top speed of 300 kph!
Reviewed in the Los Angeles Times on January 2, 1998, French Toast
is published in the U.S. by St. Martin's Press.
If you've had some funny, startling, satisfying, or dismaying
food experiences in France you'd like to share,
you may contact Harriet directly at
hwelty@club-internet.fr.
Editor's Note:
Dear Readers, while our writers are always
delighted to hear and to receive comments, both about their columns in the The Paris Kiosque,
as well as your experiences in Paris,
they are unable to answer any requests
for travel information.
Thank you for your understanding.
