McDonald’s Opens a New “Arc De Triomphe” -in the Louvre

French art and food lovers are choking on their fries.

The debate has tempers flaring, both among food lovers and art lovers in France. But now it is done: The hamburger chain McDonald’s is celebrating their 30th anniversary by opening restaurant 1142 in France – in the Louvre.

The neon yellow and eye-catching M will be the first “attraction” museum visitors arriving by subway will see, before they enter the museum to admire the works of Da Vinci, Rembrandt, Botticelli and other masters.

The Louvre has the opportunity to stop any shops or stores who do not fulfill the aesthetic and cultural values deemed worthy of being associated with the world renowned art mecca. But McDonald’s managed to pass the test. And so did the coffee chain Starbucks last year – also during heated protests and signature campaigns.

The opposition is asking the president of the Louvre, Henri Loyrette, to resign.

Louvre Pour Tous, a website whose purpose is to “inform and defend the museum and its visitors” says Loyrette only had to say one word to stop the smell of fast food from reaching the nose of Mona Lisa. But it simply states: He chose something else.

It is of little consolation that the president guarantees that McDonald’s has promised they will strive to create a “quality restaurant” with decoration that will not be in contrast with the image of the museum.

Starbucks was bad, but McDonald’s is the bottom of the barrel, says an art historian at the Louvre. This is a confirmation of the exhaustion of the consumer society and the frightening expansion of deficient gastronomy.

Many in France see “McDo” as a Trojan horse when it comes to globalization – and a threat to the French’s desire for long lunches and culinary enjoyment.

But many things are indicating that the battle is already lost before the first burger is flipped in the stronghold of culture. Because while the traditional brasseries and bistros are free falling in France, the McDonald’s chain had 450 million customers come through its doors last year, and France now represents the largest market for the hamburger chain outside the United States.

Mona Lisa still has many reasons to regard the world with an enigmatic smile.