Laurent

Is this another sequel of the "punish france" policy of the American
administration?


"It's an absurd idea," said Jean-Paul Bedel, a regular at Le
Firmament, a cafe around the corner from the Place de l'Opéra where
Starbucks, according to a French property market magazine, will open
its new outlet in the first quarter of next year.. "The whole point
about cafes in France is that you can sit over a coffee as long as you
like, read the papers ... taking away a coffee in a Styrofoam cup is
anathema, unthinkable. It's the kind of thing you'd only think of
doing at a railway station."


http://www.guardian.co.uk/internatio...049942,00.html

Padraig Breathnach

(laurent) quoted:

    >"It's an absurd idea," said Jean-Paul Bedel, a regular at Le
    >Firmament, a cafe around the corner from the Place de l'Opéra where
    >Starbucks, according to a French property market magazine, will open
    >its new outlet in the first quarter of next year.. "The whole point
    >about cafes in France is that you can sit over a coffee as long as you
    >like, read the papers ... taking away a coffee in a Styrofoam cup is
    >anathema, unthinkable. It's the kind of thing you'd only think of
    >doing at a railway station."
No, I bloody wouldn't. Not styrofoam, not ever. Not even at a railway
station.

But that's just me and my pernickety ways. The rest of you may feel
free to drink your coffee any way you like.

Peter L

"laurent" <> wrote in message
news:...
    > Is this another sequel of the "punish france" policy of the American
    > administration?
    > "It's an absurd idea," said Jean-Paul Bedel, a regular at Le
    > Firmament, a cafe around the corner from the Place de l'Opéra where
    > Starbucks, according to a French property market magazine, will open
    > its new outlet in the first quarter of next year.. "The whole point
    > about cafes in France is that you can sit over a coffee as long as you
    > like, read the papers ... taking away a coffee in a Styrofoam cup is
    > anathema, unthinkable. It's the kind of thing you'd only think of
    > doing at a railway station."

Maybe it's time to revisit the French sentiment when McDonalds were first
proposed for Paris.

    > http://www.guardian.co.uk/internatio...049942,00.html

Peter L

"laurent" <> wrote in message
news:...
    > Is this another sequel of the "punish france" policy of the American
    > administration?
    > "It's an absurd idea," said Jean-Paul Bedel, a regular at Le
    > Firmament, a cafe around the corner from the Place de l'Opéra where
    > Starbucks, according to a French property market magazine, will open
    > its new outlet in the first quarter of next year.. "The whole point
    > about cafes in France is that you can sit over a coffee as long as you
    > like, read the papers ... taking away a coffee in a Styrofoam cup is
    > anathema, unthinkable. It's the kind of thing you'd only think of
    > doing at a railway station."

You can't go broke underestimating the taste of the general public,
including the French general public. They think Jerry Lewis is funny. Case
closed.

    > http://www.guardian.co.uk/internatio...049942,00.html

Padraig Breathnach

"Peter L" <> wrote:

    >You can't go broke underestimating the taste of the general public,
    >including the French general public. They think Jerry Lewis is funny. Case
    >closed.
But they missed the joke with Benny Hill.

Magda

On Thu, 4 Dec 2003 14:44:36 -0800, in rec.travel.europe, "Peter L" <>
arranged some electrons, so they looked like this :


... You can't go broke underestimating the taste of the general public,
... including the French general public. They think Jerry Lewis is funny. Case
... closed.

Stupid/false ideas die hard... I bet you believe that JFK killed himself, too.

Peter L

"Magda" <> wrote in message
news:...
    > On Thu, 4 Dec 2003 14:44:36 -0800, in rec.travel.europe, "Peter L"
<>
    > arranged some electrons, so they looked like this :
    > ... You can't go broke underestimating the taste of the general public,
    > ... including the French general public. They think Jerry Lewis is
funny. Case
    > ... closed.
    > Stupid/false ideas die hard... I bet you believe that JFK killed himself,
too.

The French don't think Jerry Lewis is funny? You can go broke
underestimating the taste of the general public? JFK killed himself by
shooting himself from the Texas Book Depository? What are you saying?

Go Fig

In article <bqoc14$24utod$>,
"Peter L" <> wrote:

    > "laurent" <> wrote in message
    > news:...
    > > Is this another sequel of the "punish france" policy of the American
    > > administration?
    > >
    > >
    > > "It's an absurd idea," said Jean-Paul Bedel, a regular at Le
    > > Firmament, a cafe around the corner from the Place de l'Opéra where
    > > Starbucks, according to a French property market magazine, will open
    > > its new outlet in the first quarter of next year.. "The whole point
    > > about cafes in France is that you can sit over a coffee as long as you
    > > like, read the papers ... taking away a coffee in a Styrofoam cup is
    > > anathema, unthinkable. It's the kind of thing you'd only think of
    > > doing at a railway station."
    >
    > Maybe it's time to revisit the French sentiment when McDonalds were first
    > proposed for Paris.

And the American architect, IM Pei, and his pyramid at the Louvre too.

jay
Thu, Dec 4, 2003
mailto:


    >
    > >
    > >
    > > http://www.guardian.co.uk/internatio...049942,00.html
    >

Jesper Lauridsen

On Thu, 4 Dec 2003 16:00:33 -0800, "Peter L" <> wrote:

    >JFK killed himself by
    >shooting himself from the Texas Book Depository? What are you saying?

No, JFK was the guy on the grassy knoll.

Mxsmanic

laurent writes:

    > "It's an absurd idea," said Jean-Paul Bedel, a regular at Le
    > Firmament, a cafe around the corner from the Place de l'Opéra where
    > Starbucks, according to a French property market magazine, will open
    > its new outlet in the first quarter of next year.. "The whole point
    > about cafes in France is that you can sit over a coffee as long as you
    > like, read the papers ... taking away a coffee in a Styrofoam cup is
    > anathema, unthinkable. It's the kind of thing you'd only think of
    > doing at a railway station."

Jean-Paul does not reflect the general population in France.

The tremendous success of businesses like McDonald's (which does better
in France than in any other market it serves, even the United States)
demonstrates that there is a market for certain types of allegedly
"American-style" food services. In reality, it's not their American
origin that makes them successful, so much as the fact that they address
markets that are gradually developing throughout the industrialized
world. McDonald's, for example, addresses a market for quick,
inexpensive, simple food that exists everywhere in the West, not just in
the U.S. (although the market first developed in the U.S., many decades
ago).

While some French people spend time moaning and whining about American
incursions, no French people bother to try to develop competiting French
solutions to address the same markets. And so, when the Americans move
in, they are unopposed.

Thus, when Starbucks opens, it will have an untouched market to tap.
And I can pretty much guarantee that no French company will even try to
compete; instead, the French will just moan and whine, even as they
stand in line at Starbucks for the coffee that they cannot obtain
anywhere else.