No McDonald's in my town: this is, in summary, the message that the municipal council of Toulouges (Pyrénées-Orientales) wanted to convey with this motion voted unanimously on March 29. “Protecting the health and well-being of (their) fellow citizens” is the main reason given by the mayor of the Catalan city, Nicolas Barthe.
No coercive effect
“It seems necessary to us to remember that the department of Pyrénées-Orientales has one of the highest rates of fast food per inhabitant in the country,” declares the first councilor, agreeing on the absence of coercive effect of a such motion. “We hope that they will respect our decision,” he continues.
Read also At 70, he keeps three small independent cinemas alive in the Pyrénées-Orientales
McDonald's economic argument – creation of an average of 47 direct and indirect full-time jobs – will change nothing. This restaurant in Toulouges would be the 17th of the American brand in the Catalan department. This company, whose managers were received at the town hall, would like to set up in place of the Nature Innov' garden center, near the Toulouges stadium and not far from the college. Too close to the already existing fast food offering, points out the municipal council which recalls that “four McDonald's restaurants are located within a seven-minute drive from Toulouges: Thuir, Saint-Charles, Auchan commercial space and Porte d'Espagne ".
Without forgetting, insists Nicolas Barthe, “the municipal policy committed to the protection of local businesses and eating well”. Also highlighted: olfactory, noise and visual nuisances but also “atmospheric pollution” with the risk of increased traffic flow.