French headquarters of McDonald’s raided by police as workers in the US form a protest ahead of shareholder meeting
The French headquarters of fast food chain McDonalds were raided by police earlier this month, it has been revealed today, as workers rallied outside the US headquarters ahead of the company's shareholder meeting.
It has been reported by Reuters that the search took place as part of a tax fraud investigation.
A McDonald’s spokesperson said: "McDonald’s France can confirm that a search took place at the company headquarters on 18 May. McDonald’s is cooperating fully with the authorities on this matter."
The news of the search comes on the same day that shareholders are due to meet for the company's annual meeting.
Ahead of the meeting, workers gathered outside the company's US headquarters in protest against the company's pay policies.
The employees were campaigning as part of the wider "Fight for $15" movement, which is fighting the raise wages for some of the US' lowest paid workers and has forced many in the hospitality and retail industry to rethink their pay practices.
"At McDonald’s, we take seriously our role in helping strengthen communities," said Lisa McComb, a McDonald’s spokesperson, on Wednesday in advance of the protests. "Every year, we and our franchisees separately employ hundreds of thousands of people, providing many with their very first job.
"We offer McDonald's employees the opportunity to develop the valuable skills and work ethic necessary to build successful careers even beyond our restaurants."
McDonald's itself has hiked its pay in light of Fight for $15, boosting wages for employees at its company owned restaurants to $1 per hour above minimum wage. However, those at franchise outlets did not benefit from this decision.
Shares in the company, which is listed in New York, were trading up 0.3 per cent at $123.64 at time of writing.
The reveal of the raid on McDonald's French office comes just days after the country's authorities descended on Google's office, as part of a probe into the technology company's tax affairs.