I think they are. I'm a Canadian living in France, and I pretty much hate McDonalds here. Fries are soggy and not salted enough, burgers are completely messed up, and the service is impressively slow. I tried several places, it's all more of the same.
Everytime I go back to a McDonalds in Canada I find the food just tastes better. It's still fast food, but I'm enjoying it so much more.
It's funny because it's the exact opposite for me as a French guy living in the US. I find MacDonald's to be vastly superior in France, and it's also the opinion of all my French friends who have tried both.
They say that McDonald's adapt their recipes to the taste of the country they're in, which these anecdotal observations would support :)
Everytime I go back to a McDonalds in Canada I find the food just tastes better. It's still fast food, but I'm enjoying it so much more.