FADERE, the Federation of Romanian Associations in Europe, has filed a criminal complaint against the McDonald’s restaurant chain in Spain after the company's management allegedly asked the employees not to serve Romanians or Roma people.

FADERE based its complaint on an internal note to McDonald's employees apparently leaked by one employee.

“A few days ago an employee disclosed a document in which the management asks employees not to serve Romanians and Roma people because of their increasingly frequent scams,” reads the press release from FADERE.

The internal note said that the Romanians and Roma people have frequently tried to cheat the cashiers with fake banknotes. Moreover, there were situations in which these clients became aggressive when the employees told them that they couldn’t give them change or couldn’t serve them.

The management also recommended employees to call the police when the situation requires it.

“With the support of the Paredes y Asociados law firm, FADERE filed a criminal complaint against McDonald's yesterday. FADERE also asked the company to explain this xenophobic attitude. We have already been confirmed that they will open an internal investigation,” reads the press release.

However, FADERE president Daniel Tecu said that Spain is a very tolerant country and the cases of discrimination against foreigners are very rare. “However, more and more Spaniards are disturbed by the antisocial behavior of Roma people from our country, whether we are talking about those who are begging at intersections or those who form networks that exploit beggars,” he added.

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com