Previously, bakers would be informed by the city's administrative authority which weeks they could take off, a system that ensured every area had an artisanal baker open nearby over the slow summer months, to serve the French habit of buying freshly baked bread on a daily basis.  "Parisians are in a grotesque situation," said Rémi Héluin, the founder of Painrisien, a blog about Parisian bakeries. "Many of the artisanal bakers have decided to close at the same time, and there has been a total lack of co-ordination."  He estimated that around two-thirds of bakers are closed this month, compared to half normally, leaving it harder to find bread in some areas such as around Père-Lachaise cemetery or L'avenue Félix-Faure in the 15th arrondissement.  "It's more difficult," agreed Aude Debout, a 30 year old designer who lives in the 12th arrondissement to the east of Paris. "I find myself buying more sliced bread from the supermarket - and that's not even really bread."  More from the FT:Cost-cutting lifts Numericable-SFR profitsHollande pledges €600m for French farmersHollande seeks role as Greece's saviour  The change to the bread rules is a tiny part of a wider government agenda to liberalise a range of markets, including intercity coach services and legal professions. Sunday opening laws are also being relaxed.  Bakers can now take holidays when they like in the summer, but they still are told which day they have to take off every week so not all the bakers are closed together.  Parisian bakers have not been completely deregulated though - far from it. Since the revolution in 1789, where food shortages were partly to blame, bakers have had to declare time taken off. A 1998 law still in place states that to be called a boulangerie in France, the dough has to be kneaded, shaped and baked on the premises. The price of bread was fixed until as late as 1986.  The bakers, however, seem pleased by the latest change.  Morgan Marie, a baker for eight years in Paris on the Rue de Charonne also in the east of Paris, says that it was sometimes irritating to be told to stay open in August, because there are so few customers.  "If nearly all my clients are on holiday it's not profitable. It's much better to be able to open when I like. It's not that bad if clients have to walk a little longer for a few weeks to find bread in August," he said.  Some bakers say they are taking advantage of it. "For us it's a plus," said Arnand Anita, the manager of A La Flûte Enchantée, which is not closing at all this summer. "We will bring in customers and hopefully keep them."  "Political legitimacy has long come from feeding the people, but in France this has always been symbolised by ensuring the supply of bread," said Steven Kaplan, a Cornell University professor of history and author of several books on French bread.
An unintended consequence of attempts to reform France's labor markets? It's hard to get a decent baguette in Paris.