Joining the McResistance

last updated 8 January 2015

Berlin

The bohemian Berlin neighborhood of Kreuzberg is trying to block McDonald’s from opening a restaurant. Before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the quarter was known as West Berlin’s coolest address, home to punks, pacifists, anarchists, and artists. It’s now less radical, but still edgy, and residents have formed a group called McWiderstand, or McResistance. “Kreuzberg is a very alternative neighborhood with a lot of small businesses,” said group leader Philipp Raschdorff. “There is no Burger King, and no Ikea. This is what distinguishes the area.” The quarter’s representative in parliament, Hans-Christian Ströbele, has joined the campaign. “I fear that with all its media power,” Ströbele said, “McDonald’s will tempt pupils and stop them eating their usual sandwich and apple for lunch.”