Halal Burger Bar Opens in Paris

France's first restaurant serving halal meat in an American-style fast-food setting has opened in the suburbs of Paris.

"It's a restaurant that welcomes everybody," said Sana Ayar, a 19-year-old employee at Beurger King Muslim. "It's just that it also caters to people who eat halal."

Wearing the hijab or Islamic veil that most French employers prohibit and tucking into a Double Koull Cheese (koull means eat in Arabic), Ms Ayar added: "Muslims would go to McDonald's if McDonald's served halal meat."

Beurger King Muslim - the name is a pun on beur, French slang for Arab - opened in Clichy-sous-Bois a month ago and has been so successful its founders are already looking for other sites.

The menu is standard fast food fare: burgers, nuggets, fries, sundaes, box meals with surprise gifts for the kids. The decor, from the vinyl-clad booths to the brightly coloured walls with the BKM logo everywhere, is pure American burger bar.

Siham Bella, 27, said she came often "It's a great idea, especially because it creates jobs for young people who can't easily find work."

Most of BKM's 28 staff had been out of work: Clichy-sous-Bois, like many such suburbs, has a heavy concentration of immigrants and first- and second generation Muslims from France's former colonies, with an unemployment rate of around 25%.