The French gastronomic tradition is not to be underestimated, but an economic downturn, globalization and changes in lifestyle have been working in favor of le fast food. PNS Cris Yabes is a Filipino journalist living in Paris.

"I was raised to eat the best food, but my children are of another generation."

Philippe Massart is one of 3,000 Parisians who signed a petition protesting the opening of another McDonald's restaurant earlier this year. They argued it would disturb the peace of their small, close-knit neighborhood in the Right Bank -- and they won.

Massart used to come for lunch to a restaurant where the tables face the river Seine, and take his time over steak and fries and salad, followed by a piece of cheese and a glass of good wine.

But then his children often beg him to take them to "McDo" -- short for McDonald's. And while the fast-food restaurants are not in his small part of Paris, they are everywhere else in the city.

"I know the young ones like it," said Marie Martinovich, a theater costume designer who led the campaign in Massart's neighborhood. "The meals are cheap. They keep the place clean. But really, I can't eat their steak like that. It's overcooked!"

But fast food is gaining acceptance, mainly on account of globalization -- a term that also annoys the French -- and a rapid lifestyle change from midday meals that can take two hours to power lunches that lead quickly back to work.

There are still three times as many traditional restaurants in Paris -- many featuring regional specialties -- as there are hamburger joints, pizzerias and sandwich corners. In a country where gastronomy is a strong heritage and where chefs are often celebrities, French cuisine will always put up a fight.

But the troubling downturn of the economy in the 1990s helped the spread of le fast food. Many were drawn to a meal costing about $5 at McDo rather than paying almost twice that for a bowl of salad in a brasserie.

Still, Francois Tissandier, a former food marketing director, thinks "There is no threat of a foreign invasion. We know about food too well and we know the difference between good and bad."

He pointed to a survey showing that the change in eating habits exists only "for a fringe of the population."

Christian Denis, a food magazine writer, argues for a live and let live attitude: "People should stop complaining. If they want to have a Coca-Cola let them take responsibility for that and let their conscience decide."

The discussions have recently gone beyond questions of style and taste. In the wake of the "mad cow" disease, France ordered beef withdrawn from the supermarkets, giving new life to the debate between those who favor "organic" food over food raised with the help of chemicals or genetic modification.

But the idea of organic food (called "bio" or "biologique") has been slow to catch on in France. Only recently have some natural food stores opened, following the trend of other western countries promoting a vegetarian way of life. Ironically, it is usually American or British food chains in Paris that offer a choice of vegetarian or health food on the menu.

McDonald's is an easy target because it represents so much of the American culture which the French love and hate. But the marketing must appeal to the younger generation -- all around France, the chain's 800 outlets serve about a million customers a day.