McDonald's France Fries Review: Are "French" Fries Better?

Here at The Fries Blog, we have always wondered why French fries were "French". Despite the ongoing debate about the origin of its name (whether French or Belgian), we can say we have special feelings about the country that occupies the first word of the food we love. Perhaps we owe our existence to France. So naturally, we had to travel and see for ourselves whether fries are actually better in France.

Our first destination was obviously McDonald's, with about 1600 locations in France. Knowing how well Paris is known for their amazing culinary scene, especially with French fine dining which focuses on care and detail put into every step, we wondered how good the fries at McDonald's would be. Would they be better than their American benchmark? What about those across the channel? Here is our review of McDonald's France French fries.

McDonald's near the Notre Dame in Paris. This destination serves both tourists and locals, being near Notre Dame and Sorbonne University.

Texture (3/10)

The fries had no crunch and very little crisp on some of the fries. It was like eating a piece of soggy cardboard. They were deflated and the innards were like mashed potatoes. The most unimpressing part was that the fries felt undercooked, almost yellow in appearance. Perhaps they were using oils with lower temperature points or they did not leave it in long enough. The exterior skin hadn't formed fully, and the fries were not too sturdy. Drawing parallels to the McDonald's UK fries, they’re basically the same.

Look at the bright yellow color. Is it even fried enough?

Flavor (3/10)

The fries were very bland, with barely any salt. It was basically just a raw, under-fried potato stick. Because American fries are fried with oil that has a meat additive, and the EU uses pure vegetable oil, leading to a blander, more potato-strong taste. In comparison to the UK, they had even less salt, and the same potato taste. This was very disappointing. We also peeked into the carton it came in and just like the UK, there were barely any oil stains, indicating that these were again "healthy" fries. Healthy or not, we just cannot give a high score on potatoes that cannot be consumed without ketchup.

Barely any oil stains in the carton.

Shape (6/10)

The fries were pretty consistent and long, and they were slightly thinner than the McDonald's fries in America, as well as being deflated and lacking meaningful stuffing. The shape has been the most consistent attribute between the two sides of the Atlantic as we think the size of the potato and the grid cutters are similar. The fries do not bend, flop, and has minimal curves which then is ideal for dipping in ketchup. However, nothing here is ground breaking, novel nor memorable.

The fries have the standard McDonald's shape.

Presentation (4/10)

The fries were served in the actual McDonald's signature carton, which we love, and not the flimsy waxpaper bags in America. They were gold and themed in celebration of the FIFA World Cup happening (Les Bleus are doing well currently!) . Even though they were served in the carton that accentuates vertical fries placement, the carton was laid flat on the tray with fries just spilled out in disarray, showing that the kitchen did not put attention to detail. We would have loved to see vertical insertion with the carton standing up. McDonald's needs to spend more training resources with personnel we feel as this is a missed opportunity. Also, given the World Cup, I think presentation could have been more special.

We are happy to see the standard McDonald's large fries carton. It's the FIFA World Cup edition in gold.

Experience (3/10)

We paid €4.80 ($5.50) for the large fries, and we don’t think that it is worth it. Given the average salary in France is about 30% lower than the US, this means that the effective price of large fries are $7.85! And even so, the fries simply just were not good enough to make up for the price. To put that in comparison, the average American McDonald's large fries costs about $5.00, while the UK price is around $3.00. Both are cheaper for better fries. The McDonald's we visited was barely airconditioned and the ordering kiosks were a sauna. Never have we experience a McDonald's that skimped on in-store airconditioning but to be fair, the entire city seems to not use much cooling.

France must be a huge soccer country. Everything was in the gold!

Texture	3
Flavor	3
Shape	6
Presentation	4
Experience	3
Overall	3.8 / 10

Conclusion

We came to France as we were genuinely curious on how the culinary capital of the world makes the food that has the country's name in it. Yes, we understand that this is McDonald's (as we have to use the benchmark for fair comparison), but there must be standards that make anything viable in the market. Imagine trying to sell sub-par burgers in America or not fresh sushi in Japan. McDonald's fries in France was super disappointing. A little more salt and a bit more crisp wouldn’t go unnoticed. For a city that is known for culinary excellence, their brasseries and cafes, and most Michelin stars per capita, we do not believe this is acceptable.