Balenciaga does this time after time just to get their name out there. And the press falls for it every time. Nobody is going to buy the ridiculously overpriced tat, so it is all for exposure. Like the copy of an IKEA bag they 'sell' at $2,145. It's just a marketing ploy.
Having just travelled through France I can assure you that the only thing I saw that looks remotely like their photos is the Jambon beurre, which could use some mustard. I can't comment on the sandwich at Chez Alain Miam Miam as I avoided Paris. Any of the others that I saw bore as much resemblance to the photos as the actual Big Mac you receive bears to the picture you see above the counter. I.E. very little.
I just have to say that the Devil's Food chocolate cake mix is unbeatable! No other chocolate cake comes close and the instructions give a perfect cake every time. Many thanks to whoever came up with that one!
Most people in Europe cannot do without a car, I can assure you. They are essential, not a luxury. If you live in a major city, then maybe, but anywhere else and public transport is abysmal and if you actually find something that goes where you want to go, horrendously expensive. London to Brighton by train, just 47 miles, takes a minimum of 90 minutes and will cost a minimum of £41 ($55). Almost double that peak time. So going witkout a car is not an option for the vast majority.
I cannot believe people still think Branson is actually going to get this thing into space. He has been promising full space flights for customers "within six months" for well over a decade now.