Did you know that France is the most profitable country outside of the USA for McDonalds ? Yes, that's right, McDonalds of Big Mac fame. France?

This is extraordinary; the great inventor of the world's most famous gastronomy is the best outside the USA.

But they did say the most profitable.

Now you tell me dear reader, (and is there one?) how long do you stand in line at McDonalds waiting to order your Happy Meal before another cash till is opened up and that automatic quizzical look is directed at you, that just says,' yeah?' 5 mins ? Less than that?

One can wait in McDo's, for that is how they are known, for as long as it takes to serve the people in front before another till is opened. It can be as much as 20 minutes to wait for a coffee, while someone else slowly mops the floor a few metres away and the supervisors jangle keys on chains.

All the while you wait as there is no alternative in the hinterlands of some French towns that are home to McDo's and the cheap plastic hotels that offer a room for 1/2/3 people at only €29 a nite.

There in a polystyrene box is France's main problem. It is so expensive to hire, and God forbid one tries to fire, staff; they don't bother to get 'em in, in the first place.

Easy to be more profitable than the competing countries when they don't even bother to hire sufficient staff to provide a reasonable service.