-
French weekly weather forecast October 6 - 10: calm conditions, above average temperatures
Rain is not expected but there will be periods of cloud coverage mainly in in north
-
Two die as storm Amy hits north of France
Violent winds also cause widespread travel disruption and power cuts
-
French air traffic strike suspended but Ryanair silent over 1,800 cancelled flights
Low cost airline boss calls European Commission to reform sector, calling its president Ursula ‘von Delayed-Again’
French app recruits ordinary people to do deliveries near their homes
Shopopop is available in more than 15,000 towns and cities in France and has boomed during the pandemic. It unites people with nearby residents looking for a home delivery

An app allowing online shoppers to call on volunteer delivery people in their local community - for a small ‘tip fee’ - is expanding after the pandemic boosted interest in the service.
Take up of the service provided by the Shopopop app increased dramatically during the pandemic, when deliveries via the scheme jumped 400% in 2020.
The ‘crowdshipping’ app was created in 2016 by business partners Antoine Cheul and Johan Ricaut to facilitate contact between retailers, volunteer delivery people and end customers.
Côte-d’Or expansion
Dijon has been making use of Shopopop since October 2018 and now has 500 volunteer deliverers and seven local supermarket partnerships.
Back in March, Shopopop was expanded to cover Quetigny (Côte-d’Or), where 50 volunteers have so far helped make 500 deliveries involving Leclerc.
The company is now hoping to develop partnerships with other local businesses as well, including small shops that suffered during the pandemic because they could not offer delivery.
Not meant to be a job
While any adult can become a volunteer delivery person, they are subject to a charter of good conduct and a rating system.
"We make sure that the shopper has been respectful, that there have been no damaged products", communications manager for Shopopop, Delphine de la Gournerie, told France 3.
For each delivery, the delivery person can expect to receive at least €5 in tips, or more depending on the amount of shopping and the distance covered.
However “It's not meant to be a job”, added Ms de la Gournerie. In fact, the platform limits a delivery person to making 8 to 10 deliveries per month to ensure that cannot happen.
Related stories
France debates whether to impose minimum book cost delivery
Covid health pass rules lifted from over 100 French shopping centres