Since leaving the EU on 31 December, Britain seems to have somehow avoided the apocalyptic scenarios outlined by those most opposed to Brexit last year.

There have been, so far, no long queues of lorries at Dover; the lights have stayed on; and the nation’s supermarket shelves have remained full of food.

It appears that Brexit has caused food shortages in one country though. Mr S was surprised to spot today, after all the dire prognostications about Britain’s own food supply, that one shop in France is struggling to get hold of essential grub. According to the news agency Reuters, Marks & Spencer has struggled to fill the shelves of its 19 food stores in Paris since Brexit day.

As a result, the hungry denizens of the French capital are no longer able to get hold of ‘sandwiches, black rice and edamame bean salad, and turkey tortilla with curry’. If that doesn’t constitute a national emergency, Mr Steerpike isn’t sure what does.

Who knew that the doomsday Brexit scenario would take place on the other side of the Channel, after all…