Halal burgers raise French hackles

Article reports that Quick, a chain of French fast-food restaurants, has got itself in a pickle February 2010 after it said some of its branches would serve only halal beefburgers to attract more Muslim customers.

Quick’s experiment has triggered a storm of protest from politicians, who say the company is breaching France’s secular tradition.

The marketing ploy has become the latest topic in an increasingly shrill debate about French national identity launched by the centre-right government in 2009.

The debate has centred on the effects of immigration and its potential impact on national unity.

ESO: Background information: France’s unease at national identity crisis http://www.europeansources.info/record/frances-unease-at-national-identity-crisis/

ESO: Background information: France stops short of full ban on burqa http://www.europeansources.info/record/france-stops-short-of-full-ban-on-burqa/

BBC News, 19.2.10: French fast food chain Quick sparks halal burger appeal http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8524056.stm

France24, 19.2.10: Politicians pounce on halal burger row http://www.france24.com/en/20100219-burger-chain-quick-removes-pork-menus-uproar-politicians-muslims-france

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