Croissant Vite

France's answer to le burger

Frenchmen in the mass, alas, have succumbed to American fast food. McDonald's has hamburger dispensaries all over Paris, and Burger King has opened a shop on the Champs-Elysees. But the French have launched a spirited counterattack. Their ammunition is the croissant, the flaky, crescent-shaped roll that is as dear to French palates as scones to the Scots or Mom's apple pie to Americans. Gourmands are lining up for McCroissants at American-patterned restaurants rapides from sleazy St. Denis to the Boulevard St. Germain.

The first chain, named Croissanterie, was kneaded by Jean-Luc Bret, 34, a former marketing manager for one of France's largest breadmakers. His aim: to "seduce women and children who hate going into restaurants alone." Jean-Luc's rolls--horreur!--are dipped in chocolate or flavored with coffee or stuffed with bananas, Roquefort cheese, mushrooms and a dozen or so other fillings. They are delivered frozen to the stores, and thus come from the oven as mushy as supermarket bread. Even so, the Croissanteries sell 50,000 rolls a day, plus Seines of soft drinks and coffee.

Bret has established ten Croissanteries and plans to open ten more next year. He already faces stiff competition from at least five other would-be top-of-the-roll tycoons, notably Fashion Designer Michel Axel, who owns Croissant-Show (a Franglais pun on chaud, or hot). Jean-Luc is now planning to invade the U.S. and teach burgerphiles to live by fast and fancy bread alone.

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