Six of the most opulent hotels in Paris have been fined by the French Competition Council for running a cartel on prices.

All six hotels – de Crillon, the Four Seasons George V, The Ritz, Plaza Athénée, the Meurice and Le Bristol – were fined a total of 709,000 euro (£484,000, US$835,000) with Hotel Crillon ordered to pay 248,000 euro (£169,000, US$292,000), the largest single fine.

According to French authorities, a four-year investigation revealed regular exchanges of confidential information among the six hotels regarding their businesses and their marketing plans.