Last year, France became the leading consumer of chicken in Europe ahead of Germany and Spain, with more than 28 kg consumed per person on average: this meat remains one of the cheapest, although it has not been spared by inflation (+18%, according to INSEE).

As a sign of this craze, new franchises are appearing in fast food, such as the Korean fried chicken chain Bonchon, which opened its first restaurant in Paris in March. The Napaqaro group (Buffalo Grill, Courtepaille) launched the American franchise Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen in the capital in February and aims to 300 establishments by 2030.

"Chicken has the wind in its sails: it is an interesting protein nutritionally and low carbon emitting," said Isabelle Herman, general manager of the American giant Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) which has 328 restaurants in France and says it has "still a great potential for openings", after having created 25 establishments last year.

To support this development, KFC has entered into a partnership with LDC poultry (chickens from Loué, Le Gaulois) which has enabled it to double its supplies of tricolor chicken, to 47% of the total. The rest comes "mostly from the Netherlands and Poland," she said.

The group is proud of this effort in "a complicated economic context," says Ms. Herman. "Our franchisees had to agree to reduce their margins, since we only included in our consumer prices half of the inflation, which was 25% on our raw material costs, or on average 11-12%."

KFC has formed a partnership with LDC poultry (chickens from Loué, Le Gaulois) which has allowed it to double its supplies of tricolor © chicken Karen BLEIER / AFP / Archives

For its part, McDonald's says it sources France, from 219 farmers, for two-thirds (18,000 tons per year) of its chicken needs, and for the rest, especially in Germany and the Netherlands.

The brand is committed to ensuring that "100% of the chickens in its French sector are raised in buildings (...) with natural light in an environment "that promotes natural behaviours", including perching and dust bathing, she told AFP.

Density of chicken per square metre

KFC France promises that "by 2026", 100% of its chicken supply will come from farms and slaughterhouses respecting the criteria of the "Better Chicken Commitment", a base of criteria defended by animal protection NGOs: lower density of farms, better environment, absence of cages, less cruel slaughter ...

But KFC has "not committed to include a minimum share of the outdoors in its supplies," laments the farm animal protection association Welfarm.

Sign of chicken craze, new franchises appear in fast © food SCOTT OLSON/Getty/AFP/Archives

She was delighted to see the Jury of Advertising Ethics, on March 13, alarmed by an advertisement of the sign for the "Crispy Box" of KFC featuring "a chicken bouncing on the belly of a cow (...) in a bucolic setting", while poultry "are raised in buildings in permanent confinement", notes Welfarm.

This advertisement "is likely to mislead the public about the reality of the conditions of rearing chickens used by KFC", said the Jury.

But in reality, is the improvement of chicken welfare on the way?

While the European Commission is due to revise its animal welfare legislation soon, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has recommended reducing the density of chickens on farms, considering that a density above 11 kg per square meter is detrimental to them.

The limit for entry-level chickens is currently 33 kg per m2 (about 17 chickens per m2) and up to 42 kg by derogation.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommends reducing the density of chickens on farms © FRED TANNEAU / AFP/Archives

These recommendations, considered minimal by animal protection NGOs who expect a tightening of European regulations, are rejected by European agricultural organizations (Copa-Cogeca, AVEC...), which warn of a risk of "disappearance of most of the European poultry sector, meat and eggs combined", in a context of fierce competition between producing countries.

Because according to French poultry professionals gathered in Anvol, the sector is "overwhelmed by imports": half of the chicken consumed in France – which has 14,000 farms – is now imported, against a quarter in 2000.

© 2023 AFP