A group of pro-Palestinian extremists have claimed credit for a fire that consumed a McDonald’s restaurant building in France this week.
A fire broke out on Monday evening at a new McDonald’s restaurant still under construction in Montrabé, near Toulouse. The fire burned the building to a crisp before firefighters eventually put out the blaze in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
In the wake of the fire, a local activist group named Les Frites insoumise (the unruly fries) claimed responsibility for the fire, claiming that the arson attack was intended to support Palestinians and oppose the expansion of McDonald’s in France over the company’s support of Israel.
The radical group’s name was apparently influenced by the far-left La France insoumise (LFI) party of pro-Gaza zealot Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who has been at the forefront of the anti-Israel movement in France.
In a statement reported by the Libération newspaper, the group said: “Les Frites insoumises set fire to the McDonald’s under construction in Montrabé, in support of the Palestinian people, and against the new expansion strategy of the firm, which wishes to open 50 new restaurants this year and impose its presence throughout France in order to compensate for financial losses due to the boycott.”
Un restaurant McDonald’s en cours de construction a été incendié cette nuit au nord-est de Toulouse. Son arrivée est décriée au sein de la commune de Montrabé à cause, notamment, de sa proximité avec des établissements scolaires. Une enquête a été ouverte. pic.twitter.com/msTlw86weg
— La Dépêche du Midi (@ladepechedumidi) April 8, 2025
McDonald’s has been facing boycotts across France and elsewhere after the company’s branch in Israel donated hundreds of thousands of meals to the Jewish state’s military, security forces, and health service in the wake of the October 7th Hamas terror attacks that left over 1,200 people dead in Israel.
In recent weeks, there have additionally been calls in France to boycott American products over opposition to the Trump administration’s policies.
In nearby Toulouse, a Tesla dealership was firebombed last month, with an anarchist group taking responsibility for the attack that left twelve cars destroyed. It was estimated that the arson attack caused upwards of €700,000 (£580,000/$770,000) in damages.
Days later, the Palsetine Action group vandalised President Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf course in Scotland, with messages such as “fuck Trump” and “Gaza is not 4 sale” being scrawled in grafitti throughout the grounds of the world famous course.
President Trump later revealed that the “terrorists” behind the incident had been jailed, saying: “They did serious damage, and will hopefully be treated harshly… The three people who did this are in prison. You cannot let things like this attack happen, and I greatly appreciate the work of Prime Minister Starmer, and UK Law Enforcement.”
Four in Ten Fear Civil War in France Amid Spread of Islamism, Breakdown of Social Cohesion https://t.co/h6xuzyc9Fm
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 28, 2025
