Uproar over plans for Starbucks in Montmartre Already 20 years ago, McDonald's tried to set up on the Butte (de Montmartre). The fast food giant had to throw in the towel. Here again we have no intention of giving in," he told Le Figaro newspaper. International clothes chains were already encroaching further down the hill in Abbesses, below the Sacré Coeur, Montmartre's iconic white church, said Mr Brabant. Starbucks" arrival in what was the historical centre of Montmartre when it was surrounded by vineyards represented the last straw, or as he put it, "the drop of coffee that makes the vase overflow." He and the local shopkeepers' association of Upper Montmartre have been distributing tracts, launched a petition to hand in to the local town hall, and plan to demonstrate against Starbucks next week. Some locals complain the real problem is the rocketing price of local real estate and rents. "I have no illusions about the future," said Frédéric Loup, who runs the local chemist and is president of the Upper Montmartre shopkeeper's association. He and others had thought of clubbing together to buy the brasserie before giving up. Rent has gone up so much that when I leave, there will be no more chemist on the butte Montmartre. Small shopkeepers are finding it harder and harder to hold on," he said. Who has enough clout to battle against a giant? Jean-Claude, one internet commentator and a Montmartre resident for "many years" said: "I am always ready to help tourists and show them all the hidden corners of our beautiful quarter, but I think we must do everything to stop this disfiguring, as it opens the door to any old rubbish." One American blogger in Paris said she was unsettled by the change, writing on her Out and About in Paris site: "I'm still trying to imagine Hemingway ordering a Frappuccino grande and a muffin before settling down with his laptop to take advantage of Starbuck's free wifi."