The French are up in arms again over fast food, but instead of tearing down a McDonald’s, this time they are fighting to save one from closing.

The land of haute cuisine is no stranger to protests against malbouffe, or “junk food”. But Marseille residents are now waging a legal and political battle to keep a McDonald’s outlet that has become a “centre of community life” and a much-needed job provider.

Marseille’s conservative mayor, Jean-Claude Gaudin, and its Socialist senator, Samia Ghali, have joined the campaign. If McDonald’s goes ahead with a plan to close its branch in Saint-Barthélémy, a north Marseille neighbourhood plagued by gang violence, drug trafficking and high unemployment, the senator has vowed to “oppose its presence throughout Marseille”.

With a staff of 77, the McDonald’s restaurant is the second-biggest private-sector employer in Saint-Barthélémy, which has an unemployment rate of 30 per cent — more than triple the national average.

McDonald’s has won hearts and minds by hiring school dropouts and local youths desperate for work after serving prison terms. Many now fear losing their jobs.

The area’s bakery, butcher’s shop and hairdresser have already closed. Salim Grabsi, a member of a residents’ association, said: “There’s nothing left in areas like this and McDonald’s is a centre of community life, a place where families can sit down and relax with their kids.”