Fast Food People

Each year in France some 50,000 to 60,000 people work in fast food chains such as McDonald's and Quick. Most are under 25, some are still at school, and others were previously unemployed. Fast food outlets form the salaried epicentre of their existence as they are usually their first contact with the world of work. They often study at the same time as working in this somewhat precarious job, chosen in fact because working hours can be modulated. All this means that the workers are tired and subject to stress, both because of what they do in the restaurants, and because they are carrying out another parallel activity. This documentary focuses on the young people who work in the restaurants, on their jobs and on their lives. Through them we discover a specific universe with its codes, constraints, advantages and drawbacks, a universe which marks the beginning of the professional life of many young people today, and which also reflects the transformations of our society, marked in every respect by the new trend towards less secure and more flexible working practices. The young employees describe their working and living conditions by re-enacting and miming them. Among other things, this film shows the inventiveness and humour of this generation when confronted with precariousness from the outset of working life.