Europe | Sacré beurre

The French are fretting over a sudden butter shortage

But forget about making croissants with margarine

|PARIS

“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.

This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Sacré beurre”

Do social media threaten democracy?

From the November 4th 2017 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Europe

The “Trumpnado”, a wave shaped like Donald Trump's profile, crushing a boat with a European flag.

Can the good ship Europe weather the Trumpnado?

Tossed by political storms, the continent must dodge a new threat

Demonstrators march, shouting slogans against tourists in Barcelona

Spain’s proposed house tax on foreigners will not fix its shortage

Pedro Sánchez will need the opposition’s help to increase supply


Men from Ukraine’s 155th army brigade

A French-sponsored Ukrainian army brigade has been badly botched

The scandal reveals serious weaknesses in Ukraine’s military command


A TV dramatisation of Mussolini’s life inflames Italy

With Giorgia Meloni in power, the fascist past is more relevant than ever

France’s new prime minister is trying to court the left

François Bayrou gambles with Emmanuel Macron’s economic legacy

How the AfD got its swagger back

Germany’s hard-right party is gaining support even as it radicalises