Move over toasted sesame buns - McDonald's adds baguettes to menus in France

(Pack-Shot/shutterstock.com)

McDonald's cafés across France will be completing their operation 'Frenchification' with the addition of iconic baguettes to their breakfast menu.

According to a report in France's national newspaper Le Figaro this week, McCafés across the country will start offering baguettes as of September - perhaps the final food item to complete a distinctly French menu that already boasts croissants and macarons.

The baguettes - which will be sold in pairs - will be available across the 130 McCafé locations and come with butter and a pot of apricot, raspberry or orange jam.

In 2012, McDonald's will also launch baguette sandwiches.

The bread will be supplied by Holder group, which also owns French bakery Paul and gourmet pastry boutique Ladurée.

The jams will be made by an artisan producer in the Pyrenees, all part of the company's ongoing strategy to use local suppliers and ingredients and show consumers they're supporting the local economy.

As the story points out, in January, McDonald's in France launched a McCantal made with Cantal cheese, and the Charolais made with Charolais beef, a breed of cattle known for their white coat that is raised in the Burgundy area.

The French consume nine times more sandwiches than hamburgers, 60 percent of which are on baguettes. The most popular is the classic ham and butter.

Meanwhile, tweaking menus to reflect local palates is a common strategy employed by multinational fast-food chains.

KFC has become a formidable presence in China, for example, and offers bowls of congee - traditional Chinese rice porridge - alongside its buckets of secret recipe chicken.

Subway also offers a localized menu of sandwiches in India that includes Chicken Tikka and Chicken Tandoori.

http://www.mcdonalds.fr/#/McCafe