In Paris, Krispy Kreme takes on the croissant

I was riding the Paris metro when I saw it: a floor-to-ceiling advertisement featuring a half-eaten glazed doughnut, boasting that it was “the best croissant in Paris.”

I’d just spent four hours at a circus with my children and thought that, perhaps, my corneas had been burned out by all the strobe lights. But no, it was true.

As the metro doors closed, I had a moment to digest – though not yet literally: Krispy Kreme had arrived in France.

Last Wednesday, around 500 people lined up at the crack of dawn – some having camped out overnight – to attend the grand opening of the latest American fast-food chain to hit town. Paris’ first Krispy Kreme store, ironically located in the space once occupied by French multi-Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse, will be joined by 11 more around the French capital over the next three months. The sugary delights will also be available soon in supermarkets.

This should not have come as a surprise to me. Over the 15 years that I have lived here, I’ve seen the French love-hate relationship with American fast food play out in a number of ways. McDonald’s has become the lazy go-to Sunday meal for Parisian hipsters and French families alike. Starbucks is always so packed that you’re lucky to get a table and, if you do, more than likely to accidentally end up in someone else’s selfie.

And I’ll never forget the day my Spanish husband came home from work and told me excitedly about the new restaurant he’d discovered where they sold made-to-order burritos! You guessed it: Chipotle.

That all adds up to a substantial American presence. France is the biggest market outside the United States for both McDonald’s (€6 billion, or $6.5 billion, in sales last year) and Burger King (€1.2 billion).

Domino’s Pizza, Five Guys, and KFC, among others, have all set up shop here, with plans to expand.

Like the rest of the pack, Krispy Kreme can hope to build a French market through the Gen Z generation of customers, who have grown up watching their favorite celebs munching those rings of greasy dough on American TV series or in TikTok videos.

Still, if you are like me, you’re probably having trouble imagining a French person choose an unsophisticated, sugar shock-inducing doughnut over a refined, flaky croissant. And, surely, a French patron wouldn’t be caught dead actually dunking that doughnut into their café au lait?

But like McDonald’s – which has added French-produced meats and croissants to its local menu – Krispy Kreme is one step ahead of you. They’re offering delights such as gingerbread-flavored doughnuts and a less-sweet strawberry frosting to appeal to the Parisian palate.

That might be enough to sway French food snobs. And speaking for myself, while I can’t say I’d choose a doughnut over a pain au chocolat, I will admit that one of my secret “musts” each time I go back to the U.S. is a sour cream glazed doughnut from … Krispy Kreme. If I could avoid taking a nine-hour flight to sink my teeth into one of those little pieces of heaven, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Maybe the famous croissant and its ugly American stepsister, the doughnut, can coexist. If there’s one thing the French know, it’s food, so I’m confident they’ve got this.

Now, onto more pressing matters. I wonder how you say “Chocolate Iced Custard-Filled” in French?