Spotlight on the Nord! We don't get mentioned much in the news but when we are noticed it is invariably for something ridiculous and often plain stupid. Comment nous sommes bêtes, nous les ch'tis!
I don't really believe that people have fallen for what is so evidently a political ruse, a way of getting faces into the media spotlight in the run up to the regional elections next month. But the media is running with it.
The central Roubaix branch of Quick, the hamburger/fast food chain, has, since the end of november last year been halal friendly, or to be more accurate, totally halal. All meats served have been prepared in authorised ways and pork products taken off the menu. Thus one burger - the Quick Burger Strong Bacon,which boasts not only bacon but also "bacon taste", excuse me? - has been replaced with a burger decked with a slice of smoked turkey. Have the people of Roubaix been spared?
The local population and, more importantly, Quick's clientele, is made up of a large proportion of muslims so this appears, at least on the face of it, to be a sensible commercial decision. And it's not as if, for instance, non muslims are not able to enjoy halal meat too. Indeed beau père used to stock almost exclusively halal meat at his shop as it was popular and thought to be tastier then the usual dead animal.
Enter Marine Le Penn, who has graced this blog before, and more than likely will again. Candidate for virtually everything one can be a candidate for here in France where the multiple mandat though much derided and much debated for reform, but still exists. She is, of course, prime candidate to succeed the bête noir of French politics, Jean-Marie Le Penn, who so famously made the run off in the presidential election in 2002. More about that elsewhere.
Marine finds that the burger joint's conversion to halal is discriminatory. The socialist mayor of Roubaix - what's French for bandwagon*? - appears to agree with her and has made an official complaint to the courts. Kerching kerching! More wasted public money and more opportunities to appear in the media looking indignant. I have scratched my head and searched my brain and yet for all my thinking I cannot for the life of me understand how a fast food outlet (don't make me call it a restaurant)'s menu can be the source (ketchup with that?) of discrimination. Where is choice? Should we have a right to demand fish 'n' chips everywhere we go and would we be right in appealing to the courts when we don't it? Of course not.
Roubaix is in any case well provided for when it comes to le fastfood and the preponderance of non halal establishments far outweighs the meagre halal offering. Indeed on checking I discover that there are three branches of Quick in Roubaix and only one of those has gone halal. According to yesterday's news the halal branch has seen it's turnover increase by anything up to 30% and the burger bar opposite is almost empty. Of course that's what customers do isn't it: vote with their feet?
This is, as in the UK, simply pre-election silly season. Whilst the UK gets stories of "bully Brown" we get force-fed tales of Quick islamisation, which provides easy sound bites but has nothing to do with discrimination and, although more about choice, the only real lack of choice here is a decent candidate for the regional elections.
This entry was written without harm to any animals and without recourse to eating any animal products.
* for once less interesting than the English it's "prendre le train en marche" - take the moving train.
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