McDonald’s gets the boot from famous Florence tourist location

The city of Florence, Italy, denied McDonald’s from opening one of its fast food restaurants at its famous Piazza del Duomo. Now, the company is firing back.

McDonald’s filed an €18 million lawsuit in an Italian court, which claims discrimination.

In the lawsuit, McDonald’s says it planned to "operate respectfully towards the local policies, even accepting to introduce typical local products in our offer, as requested from the local commerce regulation."

Florence mayor Dario Nardella was the key decider in denying McDonald’s licensing application.

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From Nardella:

McDonald's has the right to submit an application, because this is permitted under the law, but we also have the right to say no.

Fast-food chain reps issued a response to BBC:

We completely agree that the cultural and artistic heritage and the Italian historical town centers have to be protected and guaranteed, as well as the traditions and the historical small shops, but we cannot accept discriminatory regulations that damage the freedom of private initiative without being advantageous to anyone.

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