"IT'S A true catastrophe, monsieur," says a baker in central Paris as she places warm, flaky croissants in a paper bag. The price of local butter has soared in the past year, she says: "We are used to costs going up, but this is really extreme." Her pastry counter is well stocked, but margins per croissant are squeezed. Elsewhere it is shortages that bite. In a nearby Carrefour supermarket, fridges that are usually crammed with packets of butter are mostly empty. Social-media users around France share photos of bare shelves using the tag #BeurreGate. A prankster on an online-auction site offered to sell a slice of buttered toast. Press reports talk of hoarding. Because butter is essential for much local cuisine-the French eat more of it than anyone-scarcity spreads dismay.
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