Fast food giant McDonald's has filed a $20 million lawsuit against the city of Florence, Italy for blocking its application to open a restaurant on the Piazza del Duomo.
The area in question is located in the centre of Florence's historical quarter and is a huge tourist attraction.
Florence's mayor, Dario Nardella, rejected McDonald's application, saying "McDonald's has the right to submit an application, because this is permitted under the law, but we also have the right to say 'no'."
"We don't have any prejudice," he added.
#McDonalds sues #Florence for $20 mn over site refusal https://t.co/ZBFmAFaQ4G pic.twitter.com/Dk1wByj0jO
— SmartCooky (@switchtohealth) November 8, 2016
In a statement released to the BBC, McDonald's said: "We completely agree that the cultural and artistic heritage and the Italian historical town centres have to be protected and guaranteed, as well as the traditions and the historical small shops, but we cannot accept discriminatory regulations that damage the freedom of private initiative without being advantageous to anyone."
