Oh la Vache! Burger King Returns to France

On Saturday, Burger King opened a brand-new branch of its fast-food restaurant at the Marseilles airport — the first branch of the global burger chain in France since 1997

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Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

How do you say Whopper in French?

On Saturday, Burger King opened a brand-new branch of its fast-food restaurant at the Marseilles airport — the first branch of the global burger chain in France since 1997.

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The Home of the Whopper closed its 39 burger restaurants in the country back in 1997 after failing to make profits and win over the French population to its charbroiled taste, according to the Associated Press. Burger King, the world’s second biggest burger chain behind McDonald’s, appears to have learned its lesson. For its re-entry into the French marketplace, the company is working in partnership with the Autogrill Group, which, according to the Los Angeles Times, runs about 900 eateries in highways, airports, railway stations and shopping centers in France and other European countries, including Switzerland, Italy and Poland. Autogrill also operates more than 100 Burger Kings in North America and dozens in Europe.

Burger King still has a lot of catching up to do to compete with its biggest rival, McDonald’s. In France, “MacDo,” as it’s known, is surprisingly popular, with more than 1,200 restaurants employing some 63,000 people. In fact, France is McDonald’s second biggest market behind the U.S. French customers enjoy a different menu than those Stateside, including the McBaguette and an Alpine Burger, offered with three different types of cheese. Like Vincent Vega said, it’s the little differences.

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