French debate: First it was burqas, now burgers

FLEURY-MEROGIS, France — The bacon is gone from the bacon burgers, replaced by smoked turkey. At a fast food restaurant outside Paris, a new certificate on the wall proclaims that its beef comes from cows slaughtered in line with Islamic law.

On Wednesday, popular French fast food chain Quick, the No. 2 burger chain in France after McDonald's, started serving halal-only food in 22 of its French outlets, targeting France's large Muslim population, an underexploited market that has long been ignored by big business.

If it's a savvy business decision — Quick says sales doubled at restaurants that have tested the concept — the move has also opened a new chapter in the perennial war over how much society should accommodate Muslim traditions.

Or in essence, what it means to be French.

Politicians left and right have attacked the move from every conceivable angle. Some ask why halal food should be foisted on the general population, while others worry the Quicks in question will promote segregation of the Muslim community instead of acceptance. France argues that integration is the only option for minorities, and the only way to preserve social cohesion.

The spat over the halal burgers runs alongside an even more high-profile debate in parliament: This month, the Senate looks set to approve a ban on Islamic face-covering veils such as niqabs or burqas, a law that many Muslims worry will stigmatize them.

There are also fears among Muslims that Quick's strategy change risks creating a stigma — even if many are delighted that a big French chain has their needs in mind, and tired of the filleted fish sandwiches that are often the only fast food option open to them.

Halal beef must come from a cow that has been killed by a cut to its jugular vein from which all the blood from the carcass is drained. It tastes no different from other beef.

Hedi Naamane, a 29-year-old technician who brought his 2-year-old son to taste a halal burger for lunch, says he is worried Quick's move will be fodder for racists.

"There are a lot of people who complain about mosques popping up, about halal products, and this and that, and now some people are going to say, oh la la, hang on, Quick is European!" said Naamane, as he fed his son a kids' meal.

Naamane himself was not eating. Perhaps a bit strangely, the chain launched its halal-only burger restaurants in the middle of Ramadan, a month when devout Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. Quick says the date was purely a coincidence.