Word: french
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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There was a time not so long ago when U.S. fast-food giant McDonald's was viewed by European consumers as the advance scout of what the French loudly decried as American cultural imperialism. The Golden Arches, ran the prevailing European line, were a threat to the Continent's refined palates and appreciation of the civilized sit-down meal, and the livelihoods of people staffing "real" restaurants. Well, with the global economic crisis deepening, even the French aren't complaining nowadays - especially with news that McDonald's plans to invest more than $1 billion to keep its lucrative European business...
...detractors (as le mal bouffe, or junk food), the company has of late made very determined and demonstrative efforts to adapt menus, tailor to hygiene sensibilities and communicate with clients on dietary and nutritional questions that have long dogged its food. "It has introduced salads, begun using certain traditional French cheeses on burgers and told clients, 'Our food is good food, but it isn't meant to be eaten every day and can't replace the regular diet you'll get at home,' " says Berger. "Basically, McDonald's and France have worked out an understanding that [its] kind of fast...
Sniffing Out a Bargain. If you can't afford French truffles these days, try domestic. Wild Oregon truffles, which grow on the roots of Douglas Fir trees in a habitat similar to the finest truffle orchards in Europe are sought after by chefs and gourmands alike. To make sure you get your share, head to the Oregon Truffle Festival in Eugene. Among many treats, the $475 weekend package includes dinner at local restaurants, lunch the next day at a local winery, a chance to go truffle-hunting and see a truffle dog in action, and the Grand Truffle five-course...
...classic example of what the French call a pétard mouillé - or soggy firecracker that fails to explode. Few of the expected changes to the 35-hour week have materialized since France's Conservative government passed a measure in July designed to make it easier for bosses to force their employees to work more. The move retained the 35-hour week as the nominal legal reference to undercut union protest, but then rendered it nonsensical by giving employers a free hand to set far longer work requirements. So far, however, bosses haven't seen fit to make such...
...revision was a purely ideological effort to undo a landmark Socialist law, and ignored the fact most companies and workers don't want to change the 35-hour arrangement," says Eric Heyer, an economist and deputy director of the French Economic Observatory in Paris. "And by allowing companies to calculate employee time worked on a yearly rather than strict weekly basis as the previous law required, the 35-hour law provides businesses with badly needed flexibility to adapt to evolving activity at lower cost...