Fast-food giant McDonald's has
launched a $US20 million lawsuit after the city of Florence said no to
its plan for an outlet near the city's famed cathedral. If not, then you agree with the city of Florence, Italy, which recently rejected McDonald’s plans for a new location near its famed Duomo cathedral.
The fast food giant has filed a $US20 million lawsuit in response.
Florence officials want to keep the area around the famed cathedral beautiful, and a McDonald’s doesn't figure in that plan, The Wall Street Journal reports.
In January, the city issued new licensing rules aimed at stemming the tide of markets, eateries, and convenience stores popping up to serve tourists in the city.
These rules tend to favour food establishments that offer Italian food, the WSJ notes, while other businesses have to fulfil a strict list of criteria before they can get approval to sell food in the historic centre of Florence.
McDonald’s first sought permission to open its 10th restaurant in the city, near the Duomo, in the northern spring prompting protests and petitions. In response, McDonald’s came up with a plan to appease naysayers: Waiters would serve customers at tables, and the company promised to source 80 percent of its ingredients locally.
Despite those efforts, city officials gave McDonald’s plans a failing grade, prompting the Golden Arches to hit back and file the lawsuit, calling the official response “a manifest injustice.”
“We completely agree that the cultural and artistic heritage and the Italian historical town centres have to be protected,” McDonald’s said in a statement. “But we cannot accept discriminatory regulations that damage the freedom of private initiative without helping anyone.”
The city isn’t budging over its new rules, however.