A public meeting on the subject of franchise policy last night quickly turned into an all-out attack against McDonald's.

"McDonald's is like the measles,'' said one female audience member. "It's catching and we don't want it.'' The public forum was organised by a special committee chaired by Tourism Minister David Dodwell to gauge public opinion on franchise policy.

He told the audience that the committee wanted to hear their concerns so it could suggest changes in Bermuda's current franchise policy that Government could make in everyone's best interests.

But members of the audience said they had been brought up to believe fast food franchises were simply not allowed in Bermuda.

There had been a clear vocal response against fast food franchises, said one man, but there had not been any voiced support to the change, so why was Bermuda threatening to allow McDonald's here? Of primary concern to the more than 150 people at the Wesley Methodist Church Hall was the effect fast food franchises would have on Bermuda's tourism industry.

A store owner told the gathering that he had surveyed 2,000 visitors in his shop and only four of them said they would not object to a fast food franchise in Bermuda.

This was underlined by two tour boat operators who said the visitors they had spoken to were all adamant against the idea of having places such as McDonald's in Bermuda.

The litter the restaurant could cause and the health hazards of fast food were other concerns that were voiced.

And store owner Richard Powell said the idea that a small businessman could be helped by opening a McDonald's was unfeasible -- unless they had the $1 million in liquid assets required by the company.

How many small businessmen had that sort of money, he asked.

However, some members of the audience said a free economy would decide the fate of franchises in Bermuda.

Citing other fast food restaurants' attempts to survive in the Bermudian market, a man said: "If Bermudians don't want to eat there, then they won't.'' And Government MP Maxwell Burgess added that if no one wanted to go to a franchise restaurant once it opened its doors, then the place would be out of business on the next day and be gone.

But he stressed that a "reasonable approach'' had to be taken.

Another audience member added that the job at hand was to "manage and control'' the impending change.

Zoning was something the committee should look at, as a way to tackle the problem and come to a compromise, suggested one man.

Through zoning, fast food restaurants could be established in areas that visitors would not come into contact with and therefore not damage the Island's image and effect its visitors.

Planning restrictions were another means of helping resolve the issue as were limiting the number of operations that could be set up.