Six of Paris's most opulent hotels, where rooms cost on average more than €700 (£479) a night and suites can cost more than €6,000, have been fined by the French competition watchdog for collusion.

The Bristol, the Crillon, the George V, the Meurice, the Plaza Athénée and the Ritz, all renowned for their historic buildings, squadrons of attentive staff and Michelin-starred restaurants, were found to have regularly exchanged confidential commercial information.