Paris: McDonald's will pay 1.25 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in France to avoid a legal case over tax evasion between 2009 and 2020, under an agreement approved Thursday by a Paris court.

Judge Stephane Noel confirmed the second-biggest tax settlement in French history, made up of a 508-million-euro fine and 737 million in back taxes already agreed in May, years after McDonald's was accused of reporting artificially lower profits to reduce its tax bill.