In France you have a lot of "local" fast food in downtown areas already. There's the consistency argument for going to a chain, but there's also a decent amount

In France you have a lot of "local" fast food in downtown areas already. There's the consistency argument for going to a chain, but there's also a decent amount of competition. People are walking around more, taking mass transit, so foot traffic alone can be enough to get some clients. Whereas in the US, everyone's driving by your restaurant, so without those Golden Arches out front, you get about 2 seconds to convince someone to stop. This is just an informed guess, though.