It's one of those words that sets some people off, particularly those who think culture, nutrition and cuisine issues should be decided by Better and Wiser people and not the customers. ;)

Actually, when I was in Paris, I was astonished that McDonalds seems to be a great favorite over there. There seems to be a McDonalds every three blocks everywhere, and they're all packed. Somehow I had gotten the impression that there would be like one or two, like it used to be in China, and that they would probably have sandbags and barbed wire around them.

I had no idea who the cartoon character Titeuf was (the McDonalds toy), although I am a big fan of Tintin and Asterix.

They had a fresh fruit packet with apple slices, grapes, etc. that would be a welcome addition in U.S. McDonalds.